Wings of the Angels
by EchoesofMemory
Summary: Yokiri and her family were just Transformers fans. Then they were tossed into an alternate universe, where Transformers doesn't exist. Between Decepticons and angry humans, can they survive? Possible OOC, hints of smut, maybe wrong info.
1. In the Beginning

**So, technically this is my first story, since I took my other one down. Hopefully, my muse won't abandon me on this one! The other one walked out muttering curses...**

**Let me know if there's something I need to fix! But do it kindly, okay?**

**On another note, I saw a yellow Corvette Friday night! We were going to Walmart and we passed the Blackbird Bar and Grill, and there was a yellow Corvette parked there, facing the road. When we went back by ten minutes later, it was gone. I wanted to get pictures, but my phone was dead and my mother wouldn't let me borrow hers...**

**~~~TFFF~~~TFFF~~~TFFF~~~TFFF~~~**

_I stare out over the ocean as the sun slowly sinks below the endless waves. I'm sitting, my legs dangling over the edge of a cliff. On my lap sits a datapad, open to the compose screen of my e-mail. There's an e-mail address in the box, an attachment listed. Behind me, three of the most important people to me stand, waiting for me to rejoin them. None of them come to see what is taking me so long-they know why I sit here and watch the sun vanish. All three press upon me their love and support, and the conviction that, no matter what, they will always love and protect me. I vent softly and look back at the screen. Slowly I lift my hand and hit the send button. It is done. I stand and rejoin my family and together we walk back to the base._

**~~~TFFF~~~TFFF~~~TFFF~~~TFFF~~~**

_Several thousand miles and two universes away, a girl sits up as her e-mail pings with a new message. She opens and scans the brief message before sitting back, eyes wide and breath shallow._

_"Wow," she exhales softly before opening the attachment and settling down to read..._

**~~~TFFF~~~TFFF~~~TFFF~~~TFFF~~~**

I stood in the middle of the living room and eyed the mess my two kids, Eva and Maya, had created. I crossed my arms and sighed.

"Really, you two?" I asked, turning to look at them, struck once again by how different they were. Eva was a dark-skinned African, her black hair pulled back and her dark eyes shining with myschief. She was wearing a light gray tank top with dark red shorts, gray and red being her favorite colors. She was a petite five feet tall exactly. She also had a scratch down her cheek and a black eye. Maya, on the other hand, was almost six feet and slightly dark-skinned, Afghanistani heritage showing through in her slightly almond shaped blueish green eyes, an extreme contrast. Her dark hair tumbled loosely to her shoulders, gentle waves making it appear shorter than it was. She was wearing a silver tank top. a light green button up, and army green shorts, her favorite colors green and silver. She had a busted lip and four cuts raking across her forehead. "Did you really have to destroy the coffee table because you were fighting, again, over whether or not Jazz or Bumblebee was better? I know you two are as devoted to the series as Rikina and I are, but give it a break!"

The series I was talking about was Transformers. It didn't matter what series, we loved it. Often, we would spend entire days just watching different series and comparing our favorite characters.

I glared at them, my ice blue eyes daring them to argue. They shuffled their feet before bending down and working on the mess they had created. Rikina, five foot four and gold haired, pale skinned, and green-eyed, chuckled from the doorway. "Working them like slaves again, I see."

I snorted at her. "Sis, I wouldn't have to if they'd quit destroying the furniture in their squabbles!"

I walked over to her and, summoning all of my two-inch advantage over her and looking down through my almost blood red colored hair, the blond streaks making it look brown. "Remind you of anyone?"

Rikina looked up at me, smiling impishly. "Why, my dearest sister, are you implying that we squabbled just like our most vocal, and physical, adopted offspring?"

Maya, Eva, and I all rolled our eyes. "No, I'm not implying. I'm stating."

Rikina glared at me. My phone went off and I glanced at it. "It's Dispatch."

I opened it and listened to the dispatcher as everyone stilled. For all that we looked like we were young, (Rikina and I twenty-four, Maya eighteen, and Eva somewhere between twelve and fifteen) we all were veteran pilots in the Air Force. The call ended and I looked at them. "They want all of us this run-me guarding, Riki and Eva flying supplies, and Maya fighter jets."

Immediately, Eva and Maya dumped the wood in the trash and headed to their rooms to change. Rikina and I grabbed the duffel bags that always sat ready by the door and headed out to toss them in the back of the Jeep. Rikina grunted as she hefted one up.

"I wish they wouldn't do this," I sighed. "I hate having to leave the ranch with no one on it..."

We lived on a three-acre ranch. It was originally a Spanish ranch, but had fallen into disrepair. We had only gotten around to restoring the huge three-story house, mostly because we didn't want to hire farm hands to look after any farm animals we had while we were away.

Rikina smiled at me. "You know none of us wants to be left behind, Yokiri. After all, we got that from you."

I stuck my tongue out at her. Maya and Eva sprinted outside and vaulted into the back. I swung into the driver's seat, Rikina sliding into shotgun. I started the car and we began the long and sometimes tedious journey to the military base we were supposed to report to.

After all, we were in high demand. We weren't exactly your regular soldiers...

**~~~TFFF~~~TFFF~~~TFFF~~~TFFF~~~**

**Oh, wow. This is...okay for being written in three hours. Well, I'll try to update once a week, but I might epically fail at that, so feel free to level abuse my way if I don't. No flames, please. If you don't like it, don't review and say that this is a piece of crap and stuff like that. Just don't read it. I have issues with people who do that.**

**Well, anyway! Please review! *puppy dog face***

**If you don't, there will be Optimus torture later on! Muhahahahahahaha!**


	2. 5 percent survival rate

**Okay, so I meant to get this up last week. Buuuut... I'm lazy... So I decided to post two chapters up here to make up for it! Only, I guess I don't really have to make up for it, considering I didn't leave you guys hanging...**

**Anyway, I'm working on a crack fic, too. It has absolutely no recognizable plot, just a bunch of bad jokes and main character-bashing. Seriously, I think she's hit walls and robots and floors like eight times... And I'm still on chapter 1...**

**I need names for them. I have a list, but I have stories planned for most of them, and I'd rather not create Mary Sues. I don't want anyone to be reading it and think, **_**Hey, isn't that the chick who had a concussion through most of that other story?**_** (It doesn't have a name yet...)**

**Did anyone like the way I started the other one? I wanted it to seem like Yoki actually existed...**

**Aaaand finally, the thing I usually forget: the disclaimer!**

**I don't own Transformers. If I did, little kids couldn't watch it.**

**~~~TFFF~~~TFFF~~~TFFF~~~TFFF~~~**

As we bounced down the road, I reached over and switched on the radio. Recognizing the song on the radio, we all started singing. It was the song _I'm Yours_ by Jason Mraz. I looked over at Rikina and grinned. We had raised Maya and Eva in an environment where there was always music, movement, or both. I glanced at my cell phone, then focused on the road ahead. We were all registered pilots in the Air Force, though we didn't really fly planes anymore. We were mainly spies, bodyguards, or escorts. The government decided that those things were more important than what we had been trained to do. If we didn't complain, we had a government-paid ranch, didn't get deported, and weren't disected.

Why would we be disected? Easy. We weren't human. About nine years ago, Rikina and I had been told to show up at an address with Maya and Eva, or they would get deported and we would be fired. The place we had been ordered to was a warehouse and full of other people. Later, I found out that there were 100 people there, including us. Scientists showed us to a room, where we settled down to wait. An hour later, the room was flooded with gas that knocked us out.

Needless to say, two months later, we were entirely metallic beings with built-in weapons. In other words, Cybertronians. Of course, that was a simple way of putting it. While we did drink a material that we jokingly called energon, and we did operate like computers, our frames and armor were a metal and plastic compound that scientists were pretty sure shouldn't exist, but lasers couldn't cut it, so I was fine with it.

We all had the same basic frame type, slim and hourglass-shaped (like a human female) with wings. They weren't exactly wings, per se, but we could sense a lot more than normal with them. They looked like a single arc with lines running down from them. Our wings were different on each of us, like our armor, and gave us a unique... _ability_, for lack of a better word. My wings are made of repair nanites, better than those of our regular repair systems. Of course, my repair system saw them, and what they repaired, as a threat, so I couldn't use them on myself. Rikina's helped her get into anything, be it computer or building/city/country/plane, but they also allowed her to defend anything. Maya's let her track anything, anywhere. Eva's made her a master of communication, whether it be mimicking sounds or listening in on coded frequencies.

We also had human forms. We stayed in these most of the time, but not always. Our wings were the one thing that didn't downsize, but they lost their sensitivity and shifted to form birdlike wings capable of flight, or were stored in our body, leaving only wing tattoos as a reminder they were there.

We were valued because of the 100 people, we, along with another girl who told us her name was Ari, were the only five people to survive. The scientists told us that later, in a droning voice.

"There was a 5% survival rate."

I shuddered, immediately bringing everyone's attention back to myself.

::What's wrong?:: Eva asked immediately over the private frequency we all shared, continuing to sing.

::Just musing.:: I murmured quietly.

::Again?:: Rikina teased me. I chuckled as we pulled to a stop and hopped out at the air base.

**~~~TFFF~~~TFFF~~~TFFF~~~TFFF~~~**

**That... was horrible. I'm sorry... Gomenasai! (That means I beg your forgiveness in Japanese)**

**REVIEW! Or I won't update next week.**


	3. Back to the Past pt 1

**I am sooo sorry! I haven't updated the past two weeks, mostly because I was lazy and hadn't typed anything... Sooo, this is kinda rushed, I don't have a beta to check it, and I didn't read over it. It'll probly change in a few months...**

**On the upside, I now have a dozen Spirk videos, Tor, and Open Office!**

**On the downside, I really need to get out more.**

**There is mentions of torture, but nothing explicit (I'm squeamish...) so don't flip out and scream obscenities at me. I did warn you...**

**On with the story!**

**~~~TFFF~~~TFFF~~~TFFF~~~TFFF~~~**

The four girls stood in front of the warehouse. One was clutching a letter in her hand. There was a United Nations seal at the top.

The warehouse door slid open, revealing a man in a black suit. "Yokiri Ichika, Rikina Sameda and Maya and Eva Ichika-Sameda, I presume?"

One, while not the oldest but still noticeably the leader, nodded. "Yessir. What are we doing here?"

The man in the black suit smiled, a creepy look that made all four shiver almost imperceptibly. "You have been chosen to build the future."

He stepped aside and beckoned the four in. The youngest trembled, not wanting to go in. She was picked up and carried, being only five. Once inside, the quartet were split up for physicals, calling reassurances to each other as they were lead away.

The youngest trembled again, whimpering. "I don't like it here..."

The second youngest was afraid as well, but wanted to be strong for her sister. "Fourteen year olds don't cry! Even if they're in a creepy place with creepy people..."

The second oldest, the leader, was worried about the others. "I hope they're all right, and that we can get out of here soon. Both Maya and Eva are still traumatized from their war-zone lives... And Rikina has always had a hard time with her own nightmares."

The oldest wasn't thinking. She had retreated within her mind, somehow sensing things were going to get worse.

And she was right.

**~~~TFFF~~~TFFF~~~TFFF~~~TFFF~~~**

After their physicals, they were herded into a room with six other people. There were ten beds, and the girls instantly claimed four by each other for themselves. The two adults were on the outside, the children between them. After a while, a voice came over the intercom, telling them that their time to sleep was now. The lights went out.

Exhausted and in the dark, everyone collapsed on a bed and slept.

**~~~TFFF~~~TFFF~~~TFFF~~~TFFF~~~**

Over the next few days, there was nothing but tests. Everyone in the girls' room was bruised, exhausted, and pricked. They ran obstacle courses, indurance courses, solved math problems, answered history and literature questions, and created chemical formulas from memory.

More than once, Maya or Eva had burst into tears. The tears were met with slaps and sharp commands to answer questions they didn't know the answers to.

Yokiri and Rikina stood up for their younger counterparts, receiving slaps, punches and lashes in silence. They sang to the girls until their voices were hoarse. They shielded them and made sure the girls were fed and given water. After a while, the others in the room helped.

Then came the real testing.

They were given shots of a blue-green compound, then taken back to their rooms. For three weeks, this procedure was repeated. There were no more tests.

Then one died.

It was a woman, Edith, 46 and strong. She started coughing shortly after the lights came on. Half an hour later, she started convulsing. Two hours later, she was dead, suffocated by a red foam that blocked her throat. Fifteen minutes passed, then two people in haz-mat suits came in and removed the corpse.

Three days later, the two men in their group, Jones and Patrick, were dead, the same way. The next day, three girls were put into the room. They took the deceased's beds.

They, and two others, were dead within a week.

Six people replaced them. Maya started coughing the next day. Yokiri shot up when she heard the coughing.

"Maya?" she whispered, her voice hoarse.

The coughing stopped. "Yoki, I'm coughing... I don't wanna die!"

Yokiri slipped off her bed and onto Maya's. "You won't die, sweetie. I swear. You still have a life to live, and you'll live it."

Maya started coughing again, and in the next pause, asked, "Will you sing to me?"

Yokiri smiled and started to sing. "Little one, don't you fear. The angels will be with you, we'll always be here. And when the dark comes, don't be afraid. Because in the darkness, you'll always be safe."

Maya sat and listened, letting the rough voice of her adopted mother calm her. The tickle in her throat faded, letting her breathe easily.

"I feel better now," she sighed, snuggling in with Yokiri.

There was a pause, and Eva joined them. "Maya, you won't die. You're too strong."

Both Maya and Yokiri smiled, and the three of them fell asleep together, Yokiri hugging Maya and Eva curled up on Maya's other side. Rikina hesitated, then joined them. The small familly stayed asleep like that until the lights came on. They sat up and yawned, glancing at each other and giggling.

Maya coughed a couple of times, but grinned and announced, "I feel better!"

Yokiri and Rikina glanced at each other. "Good!"

They tackled her and started tickling her, making her shriek with laughter. They didn't hear the coughing of the other room's inhabitants until they had all calmed down. They glanced around and saw that three had died, and the other three were well on their way. The mood around them sobered.

"Oh, no," Eva whispered.

The familiar figures in the haz-mat suits came in. One of them pointed at the cluster of girls.

"Come with us."

Glancing at each other, they stood and followed the figures out.

They were put into another room. After twenty minutes, they started talking, losing track of time. After a while, Yokiri noticed she was having a hard time staying awake.

"Sleeping gas," she choked out. "They used sleeping gas on us..."

They passed out.

**~~~TFFF~~~TFFF~~~TFFF~~~TFFF~~~**

Yokiri was alone when she woke up. She had been strapped to a hospital gurney and had several IV's pumping more of the blue-green compound, as well as a purple compound, into her body. There was a drip with water in it, to keep her hydrated. She blinked and a shadow became a hazy figure.

"Subject 34 is awake," they intoned, the voice echoing in her head, "and responding well to compounds 17 and 9."

She passed out again.

When she woke up again, it was to screaming and a burning agony all throughout her body. Dimly, she realized she was the one screaming.

Figures were running around shouting orders. Someone finally jammed a needle into her arm and she faded back into a sea of darkness.

She couldn't keep track of time or sensations after that. Sometimes she woke up without pain. Sometimes she woke up with pain. Other times it felt like someone had laid a blanket over her mind to block out the pain. Several times she thought she heard singing. She wasn't sure of anything.

**~~~TFFF~~~TFFF~~~TFFF~~~TFFF~~~**

When she woke up, she thought it was another hallucination. There wasn't any pain, and no IV's sticking into her. She wasn't strapped down. She blinked, and the world jumped into view. Her eyesight was better, she noted. She sat up and stretched, reveling in the feeling of being free. She swung her legs over the side of the gurney and stood. Yokiri did a five-minute stretch and looked around.

"Well, now what?" she wondered to herself, staring at the handle-less door.

There was a swipe pad next to it and she wandered over and looked at it. Yokiri reached up and touched it, stiffening as she immediately knew how to disable the pad and open the door. She glanced around, making sure there were no cameras, and attacked it. Five minutes, eighteen seconds later, she was through the door.

She paused. How had she known the exact time? She shook her head and added it to her mental checklist of things to find out. She set off down the hall, pausing to check each room. She stopped at the end.

::Dammit!:: she swore. ::Where are they?::

::Yoki?:: she heard.

::Maya!:: she yelled, before realizing she wasn't talking out loud. ::Where are you?::

::I don't know,:: Maya answered. ::But I'm alone.::

::Get out and head down the hall,:: Yokiri instructed. ::I'll keep looking for Rikina and Eva.::

She didn't get far before she heard a crackling noise, and froze as her body shut down.

**~~~TFFF~~~TFFF~~~TFFF~~~TFFF~~~**

Yokiri woke up in an empty room with her family. "Wha?"

"Oh, good," Rikina said, relieved. "We were afraid you wouldn't wake up."

Maya and Eva looked at her, smiling. She smiled back.

"Subjects 34, 71, 18 and 99, stand. If you do not obey, you will be shocked."

They looked at each other and stood. A scientist entered.

"You are now entirely metallic beings," he intoned. "Your minds are supercomputers and you are no longer human. As such, any restrictions on testing are now lifted. We will begin tomorrow."

They looked at each other in horror. "B-b-but..."

He left and they broke down. Yokiri knew they spent exactly four hours, forty-one minutes, fifty-eight seconds debating the possibilities of whether or not he could be telling the truth, and the three hours and fifteen minutes before that screaming and wailing.

The lights were turned off, plunging them into darkness. They hesitated, then moved together.

**~~~TFFF~~~TFFF~~~TFFF~~~TFFF~~~**

**Gah! This is taking forever... so I'm splitting it into two parts. Part one, everyone!**

**Sorry, I should have had this out half a month ago... I'm gonna go type the other part now, so don't kill me!**

**And yes, this IS important. Why else would I type it?**


	4. Back to the Past pt 2

**Okay, part two! No flames or machetes, please, I'm just a poor author who keeps forgetting her disclaimer! No shootey!**

**And I'm sorry I didn't have it up earlier – Spirk ate my life. My mother helped some, too. Do not fear, I shall keep posting! (Hopefully more regularly)**

**A note to all you people who are reading this and not reviewing: there's this lovely thing on my fanfiction account that lets me see how many people are ACTUALLY READING THIS. Of the 41 people who have read it, NO ONE has reviewed, and one person has added this to their alert list. (Thanks, TheLoveDov!) I can't fix anything if you don't tell me what I do wrong!**

… ***clears throat: steps off soapbox* Sorry. Got carried away...**

**Disclaimer: Why do I have to do this again? I mean, seriously, everbody KNOWS I don't own the damn series...**

**Don't send zombies after me, I swear I will get my butt back onto schedule, so on we go!**

**~~~TFFF~~~TFFF~~~TFFF~~~TFFF~~~**

Yokiri was woken up by someone shining a pen light in her face. "Come with me."

She was led through a maze of passages, her mind easily starting to build a map of where she was as it measured and noted every hallway and room they passed. Eventually, they made it to a large room that was glaringly white.

A scientist glanced over and pointed at the empty space in the middle of the room. "Stand there and leave that form."

Yokiri blinked before going over to the center and standing there.

The scientist yelled, "Change! You have lost your humanity, therefor, you cannot wear a human shape!"

She yelled right back at him, "You did it to me!"

She closed her eyes and opened them, blinking again as several meters, with strange symbols she somehow _understood_ around them, appeared, along with a type of 3D map and several tabs, marked TV, RV, XV, and F. She absently activated one, sending her vision from regular to thermal and back again. She hit the one marked F, bringing up an overlay that she could see through. There was a slightly dorky image of a human, a cartoonish version of a humanoid robot, and a car. She selected the robot and felt herself changing. She cleared the form screen away to reveal the humans in the room were much smaller. She noticed a small radio symbol and queued it, opening the channel she had used earlier.

::Welp,:: she commented, ::I guess he was telling the truth. I am now around 26 ft tall and a robot.::

She glanced at herself, noting the blue color her protoform was – the color of the sky.

::And blue,:: she added, to Rikina's amusement.

The scientists were pleased and immediately started to try to take samples. Yokiri shook them off. One tried to activate the shock device they had installed, but it had been mangled as she had transformed. She smirked at them, yelping as one of them finally managed to hack off a sliver of her protoform.

"That hurt!" she snarled, pouting and looking at her leg.

The scientists traded weird looks before one approached with a needle and tried to get at the fluid in a tube in her leg. Watching him break hypo after hypo, she finally took pity on him and plucked it out of his hands. Knowing exactly what to do without actuallly knowing how she knew, she wiggled it sideways into the valve and drew some of it out.

She handed it back to him and he smiled. "Thank you."

She sighed. "I figure the sooner I get this over and done with, the sooner I can go home."

Her ey—err, optics? widened as she listened to the deep and hypnotic sound that was her robotical voice. It was almost regal in a way that made her think of queens. She sensed something press up against her and chuckle before disappearing. She shook her head and focussed on the friendly scientist who was giving her a look of pity.

"You won't ever leave," he told her. "The people here are going to use you guys as prototypes for a new army."

**~~~TFFF~~~TFFF~~~TFFF~~~TFFF~~~**

Rikina was pacing. The other three were watching her pace. They had all switched to thermal vision as the scientists hadn't switched the lights back on. One by one, they had been taken to the white room and forced to change before being led to a room that was also pitch dark, but could accomodate the girls' transformed bodies.

"This doesn't make sense!" Rikina said again, flailing her arms. "Why would they use us as prototypes?"

"Well, I don't know," Yokiri said sarcastically. "Maybe it's because this is the first time they've done this and succeeded, but we're not exactly the mindless invincible drones they wanted?"

"We're Cybertronians," Eva piped up, citing her favorite show.

They froze, not even having considered that idea.

"I do believe that idea had merit," Rikina said slowly. "And a 63.665% probability of actually being true."

Yokiri stood up. "There's one way to test it."

She hunted for her weapons, though she couldn't find any. She did, however, find a subroutine. Curious, she activated it, feeling plates on her back shifting. Her mind locked up as it processed the sudden barrage of information from whatever extended from her back. Struggling through the data, she finally managed to turn down the sensors. She gasped.

"Wow," she breathed, optics widening as she realized that the sensors were aligned on _wings_. "I have _wings_!"

She grinned and flexed them, reveling in the feel of them. Focussing again, she noticed another subroutine and activated it. Her eyes widened as her wings dissolved into tiny (to her) nanites that ran down her arms and reformed into swords.

"That. Is. Awesome," she breathed.

She reversed the procedure and watched as her family also pulled out their wings. Rikina had white wings, Maya black, and Eva had grey.

"Your wings were weird," Eva informed her. "One was black and the other was white."

They spent the next couple of hours getting used to their wings and switching between wings and weapons. Maya had fun tossing her weapons, which were lightweight circles that were sharp around the edges, with a flat space to grip. They decided to call them halos. Rikina had a whip, something she cackled about. Eva's weapons were various hand-to-hand combat weapons, including knuckles, knives, and claws. She also had some throwing knives. Yokiri figured out that her weapons were perfectly balanced for throwing.

"That was fun," Eva giggled as Rikina tried to untangle her whip, finally giving up and switching back to wing mode.

They slipped their wings back into the casings, immediately noticing the lack of input.

They went into a meditative state – they couldn't exactly sleep in their robot forms, for some reason.

**~~~TFFF~~~TFFF~~~TFFF~~~TFFF~~~**

That was the last time they laughed seriously for a while. The scientists put them through a series of brutal tests, sometimes breaking the incredibly strong compound, which was a metal/plastic mixture and stronger than both, that made up their protoforms. The scientists activated the girls' long-range defense systems and tested the accuracy and rate of the weapons. They tested the girls' mental capabilities. Often, the only way the girls could stay sane was to laugh, or giggle, for hours on end.

They were fed up with the treatment they had received, and plotted almost every night, sleeping every fourth night. They heard whispers about the other one who had survived, another girl named Ari. They discovered the programming they had already installed – Cybertronian, English, and then a job specific database. Eva was a communications expert, Maya was a tracker, Rikina was a computer expert, and Yokiri was a medic.

"None of us has a violent job," Yokiri joked. "I wonder if that's a cosmic hint or something."

"Knowing you, probably," Rikina giggled.

Yokiri stuck her tongue out. They all giggled before getting back to business.

Four months (as near as they could tell) had passed before they figured out the perfect escape plan. They waited an additional month before implementing it, making sure the information they had gathered was correct. They practiced shifting into human form and robot form, speeding it up from 4.76 minutes to 1.883 minutes. They compiled their knowledge into a complete map of the facility they were in.

And they broke out.

They freed Ari, and offered her a place with them. She looked skeptical, but agreed. They shifted into human form and got out of there. It took them three days to get back to the apartment the quartet lived in. Yokiri picked the lock and they slipped in, showering and changing. Yokiri checked their bank accounts, finding money in them, and quite a bit more than they originally had. Rikina and Yokiri glanced at each other, and Yokiri started looking for isolated ranches. They moved to Minnesota three months later.

**~~~TFFF~~~TFFF~~~TFFF~~~TFFF~~~**

I shot upright, gasping. I glanced at the clock. 3 a.m. I sighed and slipped out of bed and through the french doors on my ground floor bedroom. I peered around before transforming into my car mode, a black Corvette Z06 with blue, purple, and pink swirls decorating the hood, trunk, and sides. Rikina's car mode was a hot pink Porsche Carrera GT with silver accents. Eva was a red Camaro SS (same as Bumblebee) with twin black racing stripes, and Maya was a silver and gray Pontiac Solstice with green celtic knotwork decorating the hood, trunk, and sides. I shuddered, my engine vibrating steadily. Even though it had been around four years, it still gave me nightmares.

**~~~TFFF~~~TFFF~~~TFFF~~~TFFF~~~**

**I'm sorry this took so long. Needless to say, I can't update weekly. DX**

**Part of the reason this took so long to get up is because the internet is distracting and my band is doing a piece of music from the 2009 Star Trek movie. I liked the song, and one thing led to another, and well...**

**I'm now a Trekkie. Yay. (Not.)**

**However, I shall not give up on this story! I SWEAR!**

**Now that we have the dramatics over with, please review!**


	5. Across the Multiverse

**Gah! I'm so sorry! My computer screen broke and I had no other way of typing this because my mom hates all things not licensed with a copyright and my brother doesn't understand why I like it but accepts that I do...**

**So please don't kill me!**

**Anyway, my list grows! Maybe I should rant more often. I had another two people add this story and someone reviewed! *squeals* I'm so happy right now...**

**Anyway, I must thank the following for adding this story (SPREAD THE LOVE!): TheLoveDov, metalatron-she-lives, and McCrane55.**

**Thank you for reviewing: TheLoveDov.**

***looks at list* Wow. Pretty short... Still! It's growing!**

**And now, the reason why you came here! And you guys should be happy! I'm ignoring geometry homework and sleep on a school night for you!**

**~~~TFFF~~~TFFF~~~TFFF~~~TFFF~~~**

I sat up and yawned. Blinking, I frowned as I sensed a slight difference. I shrugged and yawned again before sliding out of bed and wandering down the hallway of the unfamiliar and large ranch style home we had bought a few weeks before. I staggered down the stairs and into the kitchen, drifting throught the motions of making coffee and a special type of hot chocolaate (made from ground cocoa beans straight from Africa) for the morning caffeine binge of our family. As they were brewing, I pulled out several skillets and starting breakfast. After a while, Maya drifted in, sniffing deeply.

"Is that eggs and bacon I smell?" she asked, yawning.

I nodded, holding a mug of the chocolate with honey, sugar and milk. "Caffeine's ready."

She zeroed in on the pots and pulled a mug out of the cabinets. I poked the eggs with the spatula as she poured herself a cup of one fourth coffee, rest chocolate and added sugar, milk and a slight dab of honey.

"Could you go wake up Eva? Rikina should be down any minute," I said over my shoulder, expertly turning the bacon, checking the hash browns, and jiggling the last of the scrambled eggs.

Maya nodded and left. She knew not to disturb Ari – that was my job because, for some reason, I was the only one Ari didn't try to kill if woken up.

Rikina stumbled into the kitchen not long after, moaning eerily, "Cooooffeeeee..."

I pointed to the pots wordlessly, transferring the finished food to platters for eating.

Eva and Maya entered again, Maya dragging Eva, both heading for the pots.

"Nobody touch the food. I'm gonna go wake up Ari," I ordered as I headed out the kitchen, adding, "I'm serious this time!"

I heard several sounds that could have been affirmations, but it was too early in the morning, for any of us, to be sure without copious amounts of caffeine. I smiled as I headed up the stairs. Our little family had recovered well from our trials, Ari fitting almost seamlessly into our dynamics. She was kind of like an advisor, distant but still living with us. We all knew that it was temporary – she had talked about getting her own apartment.

I hummed as I bounced up the grand staircase and headed down to Ari's room, pounding on her door and singing out, "Wakey, wakey, eggs and bakey! Mr. Sun is up and there's work to be done!"

I paused to wait for the thud that would come from Ari throwing her pillow at the door, but it never came. Frowning, I pushed open the door to find that the room was bare. There was nothing of Ari's, the bed was neatly made, and decorated differently.

I froze, staring around in horror. "Oh, crap..."

I turned around and sprinted down the stairs and headed for one of the few laptops we had that could actually track all of our radio signals. It was Eva's job to make sure it was safe at all times. I logged in and quickly scrolled through the different maps to Ari only to find...

...she wasn't anywhere.

"Noooo," I whimpered. I heard Rikina come up behind me and ask, "What? What is it, Yoki?"

I whirled and stared at her. "Ari's gone."

She stared at me. "But...her signal...?..."

I shook my head. "Gone."

Maya and Eva had come in and heard the last part, and all four of us stood staring at each other.

"This is bad," Maya whispered, "very, very bad."

**~~~TFFF~~~TFFF~~~TFFF~~~TFFF~~~**

We went into emergency mode, Maya and I patrolling, Eva listening in on multiple military and private channels, Rikina hacking into government websites and scanning for any mention of Ari or someone like her.

I was on my third circuit when Rikina commed me. ::Um, guys? You should come see this...::

I immediately fishtailed, heading back to the ranch house, transforming straight to human form and sliding through the (open) door. Maya followed a few minutes later. We all flopped down on the couch as Rikina switched from the monitor to the tv screen. On it was a top secret military report, detailing a strange attack on an Air Force base in Qatar.

I stared at it, thinking things through. "Um, so, basically you're saying that we somehow managed to fall through a wormhole or something and are now in the Transformers universe? If this is a prank, now would be a _fantastic_ time to 'fess up!"

Rikina shook her head. "Not a prank and not just space. I checked Yahoo, CNN, NBC, ABC, Bing...all say it's June 23rd, 2008."

I stared at her, my mouth hanging open. Some small part of my mind noted that Maya and Eva looked exactly like I thought I did.

"_What?_" I shrieked. "You're saying that Ari's alone back in wherever the hell we were last night while we're here and there's _nothing I can do about it?_"

Rikina shook her head, looking slightly amused. "No, I never said that, but I think it might be true. Human you are not, intuitive you still are."

I moaned, sinking down into the couch. "This _sucks_."

I heard three affirmatives and covered my head with a pillow.

**~~~TFFF~~~TFFF~~~TFFF~~~TFFF~~~**

We all moped around the rest of the day, until Eva finally managed to pull out of it.

"Come on!" she yelled. "We need to quit moping around, find jobs, and see what's different! I mean, seriously, Let's go to Nevada!"

We looked at each other and grinned. There was a general rush to get shoes and coats and into the Jeep, and Maya ended up driving, but only because she could actually get us where we wanted to go.

We stopped by the nearest military base and signed up, grinning cheekily at the astonished soldiers before heading to Mission City for some exploration.

We laughed and talked about how everything was subtly different, and hours passed. Suddenly, the streets were deserted, causing us to get nervous. We kept exploring, slowly making our way back through the city to the highway that would take us back home.

Suddenly, two police cars appeared. Maya immediately identified them as hostile and parked the jeep. We all got out and started running. The cars chased after us, catching up by the time we made it to an empty place. They transformed up into two hulking, ugly behemoths.

::Shit! Decepticons!:: Rikina hissed, and we transformed up.

I pulled out my swords, the others following suit with their own weapons.

::WHERE THE HELL ARE THE AUTOBOTS?:: Maya yelled as one of the Decepticons took a swing at her.

::No clue!:: I replied as we automatically split up, Rikina and I going after the new Decepticon and Maya and Eva going after the Decepticon who was inmistakenly Barricade.

I ducked a punch and slashed at the Decepticon's side, scoring a hit and cutting several (semi-important) energon lines. While he (she?) was distracted, Rikina wrapped her whip around their throat and electrified it. The Decepticon slid to the ground, down for the count.

Rikina and I turned to see Barricade tearing off down the road. "Well, that was fun."

Rikina snorted before turning around and sitting on the Decepticon. "What do we do with ugly here?"

I shrugged. "Attach a beacon, then run like hell?"

Eva laughed and pulled out a small beacon. "Fine by me!"

She attached it and I checked it, making sure the Decepticon wouldn't find it. I noticed Cybertronian symbols and tilted my head as I read it.

"Huh. This is Moonracer?"

The others looked at me.

"I always thought she was like the Arcee triplets," Maya commented.

I grinned and turned the beacon on. We transformed down and got the hell out of there.

**~~~TFFF~~~TFFF~~~TFFF~~~TFFF~~~**

**Yay! I'm done! I meant to have this out last week, but you know how good I am at keeping to a damn schedule. :P**

**So, review! Please? Like I said before, I can't fix it if you don't point it out!**

**Oh, by the way – word count: 1330**

**Pretty good, no? Four pages in Open Office!**


	6. Assignment, please!

**Thanks, guys! All of you who added me and this story to ANY of the review/favorites lists are amazing!**

**And now, the updated lists!**

**Alerts/Favorites: TheLoveDov, metalatron-she-lives, McCrane55, BornWithTheSupercell, Dunk234, TheReapersDaughter, Jazaline Lupus, and crazy-ghost-girl. Thanks, peeps!**

**Reviews: None so far. Hmm...**

**I need a beta! If you know somebody who is a fan of Transformers and would love the chance to read the next chapter of a story before anyone else (or would like to do it yourself), just PM me.**

**Also, this would be out sooner, but I don't have internet at my house.**

**On the upside, I'm officially out of school and can now spend more typing! Just be warned, there will be at least a week before I update, so I have time to type.**

**Disclaimer: Do I have to say it?...I do? Damn. *takes a deep breath* IdonotownTransformers,thecharacters,theconceptsforthecharacters,. ,Dreamworks,andMichealBay. *sighs* That...sucks. :P**

**Part of the reason this took so long is that I had to rewrite the plot. Sorry, peeps. I was originally gonna have them mistake the Transformers and their people as the actors and the non-existent robots, but then I realized... They wouldn't do that. *sighs* Sooooo... yeah. Total rewrite of chapter five and on. DX**

**Forgive me, please...**

**~~~TFFF~~~TFFF~~~TFFF~~~TFFF~~~**

I stared out the window as we took the military bus to the base. The four of us were going to receive our new assignments today. As per usual, they were top secret. What can I say? Four pilots with the accuracy of snipers weren't gonna do routine missions.

We offloaded at base, Maya and Eva getting into another snipefest over who could shoot better. "You can't hit a bullet with the broad side of a barn!"

I had to laugh at that. "All right, you two. Cut it out. You both are incredibly good shots."

"But moooooom!"

"No buts! Listen to Yoki!" Rikina chimed in, making me laugh again.

I was a bit uneasy, mostly because there had never been this many people with us when we were given mission specs. I rationalized it in my mind, thinking that they were all here to receive assignments and after they had gone, we would get our assignment.

I was wrong.

**~~~TFFF~~~TFFF~~~TFFF~~~TFFF~~~**

"_These _are our new allies? They're so pathetic and weak!"

"Sideswipe..."

"It's true!"

"Sideswipe, I know you wish to look for your brother, but there are more important issues at hand. The human governments still do not trust us, and we must comply with their wishes for the moment."

All stilled at the sound of the regal voice. One in particular sagged and heaved a sigh.

**~~~TFFF~~~TFFF~~~TFFF~~~TFFF~~~**

"Hey, Yoki!" I turned to see a friend and fellow medic waving. He jogged over and hugged me.

"Nate! It's good to see you again!" I laughed and hugged him back, careful not to squeeze too hard.

"Hey, if you've done recent physicals on them and have the paperwork, I can go ahead and just wave you through," he winked at me.

I laughed and pulled out four complete physical forms. "Isn't that against the rules?"

He made a face. "Supposedly you're biased, but I've seen you work and everyone agrees that you would never be."

I laughed again and Nate waved us through. We went ahead and sat in the briefing room.

"It is true." Maya spoke with a sense of awe. "You _do_ have friends everywhere!"

I made a face at her and smacked her, sending Eva and Rikina into a fit of laughter.

**~~~TFFF~~~TFFF~~~TFFF~~~TFFF~~~**

It took them two hours to get everyone through physicals and into the briefing room. I started talking to the man on my left, a Marine captain, and we quickly became friends. My family watched as I turned everyone nearby into a companian, joking about myself and my job.

"What?" I asked, turning to look at them.

Rikina shook her head. "I'm just wondering why."

I shrugged. "Never hurts to have friends everywhere."

We were interrupted as the SecDef walked in and everyone hurried to stand. I didn't much like the man or the position, but it was a social requirement, so I went with it.

"Please be seated," he said, and waited for us to sit. "You are all here for a very specific reason. Each of you has something we need for a new unit being formed, called NEST. None of you have to agree to join, and if you don't want to, you are free to leave now."

Nobody moved, but I was beginning to feel a sense of forboding.

"Everyone remembers the attack on Qatar last year, and the strange rumors of a battle in Mission City. Homeland Security released a statement saying that a mass halucinogen had been spread by terrorists over the city. That statement was false."

People began shifting and a few got up and left. I was almost having a panick attack because I had an idea where this was going and it was NOT somewhere I wanted to be.

"Mom, should we leave?" Eva hissed at me. I paused and took a deep breath before shaking my head.

I activated our private comm and said, ::We should see where this is going. If worst comes to worst, we can always flee.::

They dipped their heads slightly, sending their senses of agreements over the comm before closing it again.

"The rumors were true. There was, in fact, a battle in Mission City. Our troops assisted a group of alien robots called the Autobots, protecting a device that could allow their enemies, the Decepticons, to control humanity's machines and take it over. NEST is a joint operation between the Autobots and the troops involved in the battle. However, they need recruits and that is where you come in. Each of you has been chosen because you are all physically fit, smart, and your psych evals tell us that all of you adapt well and are willing to accept a lot."

Silence. He glanced around, his eyes settling on me for a minute before continuing on.

"If you do not wish to work with the Autobots, please leave now and you will receive different assignments. If you do, remain here for Major Lennox."

He turned and left the stage. Whispers broke out along the room and people started leaving.

The man next to me – his name was Captain Alex Rogan – turned to me and said, "What do you think, Yokiri?"

Everyone nearby turned and looked at me.

I said slowly, "I think... I'm going to go for it. I mean, these Autobots _have_ to be aliens, right? And if they're aliens, that means they've probably seen other life, too. Can you imagine what they could tell us about? They probably could help us streamline our energy sources and could give us ideas for stopping hunger..."

I trailed off, seeing my words take root. I smiled, satisfied that the Autobots would get good people to help them.

::Are you really going for it?:: Maya asked.

I replied instantly, ::I want to. I'll do it if you guys want to, but I won't if you don't. All that stuff I said? It's true. I want to at least talk to them and hear what they've seen.::

There was a pause, then Rikina said, ::Damn. You're freaking silver-tongued. I want to talk to them, too, now...::

Maya and Eva agreed and we settled down to wait.

**~~~TFFF~~~TFFF~~~TFFF~~~TFFF~~~**

By the time the general and Major Lennox came around, over three fourths of the people left. Our group was part of what had stayed and there were little groups of two or three people scattered around the room.

"If you'll follow me," Major Lennox shouted, "we'll head to the Autobots' hangar so you can meet your colleagues."

Everyone stood and sort of shuffled over as Major Lennox led the way through a pair of double doors and across the base. Rikina, Maya, Eva, and I made our way to the front of the group, walking about a yard and a half behind the major.

"Where are we going?" I asked, mostly because I was tired of silence.

"Hangar 666," Major Lennox replied, smirking.

I couldn't help it, I snickered. "Are they seriously that much bad luck?"

He laughed and shook his head. "Feels that way some days. But no, they're actually mostly nice."

I raised an eyebrow. "Mostly?"

He shrugged. "Well... Some of them have...issues."

Jetfire immediately came to mind, and it took almost all my willpower not to start laughing hysterically.

Lennox pointed to a hangar about fifty feet away. "That's it."

"Can I run ahead?" I pleaded, making puppy eyes.

He laughed and I whooped, leaping up. I took off, bounding away and laughing as I heard indignant shrieks behind me. I ran faster as I sensed someone coming up behind me. I wasn't fast enough and shrieked as Eva slammed into my back, pushing me down. My hands connected with the ground and I used my momentum to do a series of flips, landing on the edge of the hangar on my feet, Eva still clinging to me.

"Get off!" I shook, causing Eva to let go and fall on her ass.

"No fair!" She glared up at me.

"Life is rarely fair," I replied, sticking my tongue out and dancing away when she lunged for my feet.

Rikina and Maya walked up, leaning on each other and laughing so hard they looked like they were going to pass out.

Even Major Lennox was chuckling as he jogged over. "You two done?"

I glanced at Eva and then turned around and looked at the hangar. Seeing what I was looking for, I grinned evilly and turned back to Eva, who was wearing a white shirt.

I strode over and tossed her over my shoulder and headed for the open tank of water sitting in one corner for soldiers after they were done exercising. Ignoring her shrieks and hits, I dumped her in and jogged back to the major, openly laughing at Eva's enraged shriek of "YOKI!"

I grinned up at him. "Now I am."

Eva stormed over, white shirt see through and leaving a trail of water after her. "That was _so_ MEAN!"

I laughed. "You've lived with me how many years and you _still_ don't expect stuff like that? I would think you would have learned by now!"

Rikina was almost catatonic and Maya was wheezing the two were laughing so hard. I grinned and pulled a towel out of my bag and threw it at her. Glaring at me, she squeezed the water out of her hair and draped the towel over her shoulders.

Lennox chuckled and nodded behind us. "Those are the Autobots."

We turned around to see six pristine cars. I whistled. "Holy frijoles, that is _awesome_."

Maya wheezed out, "You're right, that's amazing."

She slumped onto her back, causing Alex to poke her shoulder with his toe. She swatted at it, which caused me to giggle.

All of us had forgotten about the cars until we heard a whirring and clanking sound. Our attention snapped back to the cars, where one of the cars had transformed.

It bent down to somewhat eye-level and said seriously, "Greetings. I am Optimus Prime."

I felt my jaw drop. "Jesus Christ... That is _BIG_."

**~~~TFFF~~~TFFF~~~TFFF~~~TFFF~~~**

**Tada!**

**Five pages in Open Office. *smug* 1,725 words.**

**So, yeah, I should have had this out forever ago. Sorry!**

**As usual, I beg you to review. It's nice knowing people like the story enough to favorite/alert it, but it would be nice having some feedback. I mean, how will I know if someone seems OOC or unbelievable? I'm the person who wrote it! And I can't change it if you don't tell me what's wrong...**


	7. Truth and lies (or something like that)

**Soooo... I have no idea. I was gonna post this a couple of days ago, but... I'm playing babysitter soooo... I have no such thing as privacy and alone time. Yaaaay. Not.**

**Still, it's nice to know there are possibly people out there who might be checking every twenty minutes to see if I've updated. Okay, so that's a bit far-fetched, but I can hope, right?**

**I know, I'm evil cuz I left you with a cliffy and the idea that we would _finally_ have Autobots, right? Gawd, I am _such_ a whore. *acts like a Valley Girl***

**Right, well. On to the lists!**

**Alerts/Favorites: TheLoveDov, metalatron-she-lives, McCrane55, BornWithTheSupercell, Dunk234, TheReapersDaughter, Jazaline Lupus, crazy-ghost-girl, Chainlinkmind, and Jade Aislin. Apparently I just have to be a bitch and not update for several days past the week mark and people will alert/favorite the story/me. XD**

**Reviews: TheLoveDov and Chainlinkmind. Thanks, peeps! Also, for those of you who haven't realized it yet, this list changes EVERY CHAPTER. That means if you review between the time I posted the latest chapter and the time I add a new chapter, your screen name is put on this list.**

**I just realized I haven't checked traffic in a couple of chapters! *runs off like the hyperactive child she is at heart***

**O.O From the first of June to the 11th, there have been 136 hits and 58 visitors to this story. YESSSS!**

**You guys have NO IDEA how absolutely ecstatic that makes me! YAAAAAAY!**

**Because all of you are so frickin' awesome, there will be Autobots, Decepticons, fighting, snark, and a long chapter!**

**Although, would some of you mind dropping a review? Thanks!**

**Oh, right. Warnings and disclaimer.**

**I'm no longer going off a plotline cuz I totally screwed mine up and didn't feel like rewriting it... so everything is really kinda OOC for now. I will more than likely go back and fix that later. You know, about the time that I start updating regularly. DX**

**Disclaimer: Isn't it kinda obvious that I don't own this? Considering that I'm on Fanfiction and not planning how best to kick Bay's ass for killing Jazz and Ironhide? And there's the fact that this ISN'T an actual plot for one of the series. So, yeah. Pretty obvious I don't own.**

**Also, still need a beta! Is there somewhere I can advertise? Y'know, 'NEED BETA. CANNOT PAY, BUT WILL LOVE FOR ALL ETERNITY. PM IF POST WANTED'?**

**~~~TFFF~~~TFFF~~~TFFF~~~TFFF~~~**

I stared up at the leader of the Autobots, smiling slightly as I heard muffled laughter from the soldiers behind me and Lennox chuckled.

"What? It's true! I think the last time I saw something this big, I was standing outside Trump Tower in New York!" Okay, that was an exaggeration, but I had to do something to keep everyone from screaming.

Truth be told, I was actually terrified. Terrified we'd be found and tortured for what we knew. I was willing to bet Ratchet was getting ready to start scanning any second, double-checking the human medics' results. I glanced sideways at my family, feeling proud at the way they were doing their best to hide their fear and insecurity, and I risked activating the comm for a few seconds.

::Well done. You knew what they meant at the briefing, and we're gonna have to stick it out 'till the end.::

They shot me looks ranging between terror and happiness.

The sound of another one transforming caught everyone's attention, and we all turned and looked at Ratchet.

"Greetings, earthlings. I am the Autobot medic, Ratchet," he grumbled, eying us distastefully.

I tilted my head to the side and made a mental note to remember he didn't trust the humans.

This time it was Alex who spoke up. "A medic? They have medics?"

I smirked. "Obviously. Unless, of course, you'd like to imply DayGlo over there is lying. And, seriously? That is a NASTY shade of yellow."

Eva laughed. "Only you, Yoki. Only you."

I smiled and spun on my heel, looking at Lennox. "Now what?"

He looked confused.

**~~~TFFF~~~TFFF~~~TFFF~~~TFFF~~~**

(Later that day)

Optimus stood watching thoughtfully as the new recruits mingled with the soldiers and the Autobots. Four in particular were of interest to him. Yokiri Ichika and her sister and adopted children were laughing with a Captain Alexander Rogan, Major Lennox, Field Medic Nathan Cross, and several other soldiers. Optimus was glad for their intervention earlier, smoothing what could have been a major disaster, but he couldn't help but feel that something about them was...off.

He turned as Ratchet and Ironhide walked up to him. ::Yes, old friends?::

Ratchet, sensing he did not want to cause alarm among the humans, dipped his head in acknowledgment. ::Something is off about Ichika, Sameda, and their adopted offspring. I cannot get a reading off of them.::

Optimus raised one of his optical ridges. ::You do not trust the human medics' diagnosis?::

Ratchet snorted. ::They miss the simplest of things.::

Ironhide countered, ::No, you're just paranoid.::

Ratchet seethed silently as Optimus let his amusement leak across the comm. ::You'll regret that when your annual tune-up comes...::

Optimus couldn't help but smile at the slightly angsty banter between some of his closest friends. ::What should we do about them?::

Ironhide instantly turned serious. ::Nothing, for now. Keep them under watch, and if they try anything, capture them and demand an explanation.::

Optimus pondered that, before nodding. ::Good idea.::

He switched to the public channel, calling, ::Sideswipe, Jolt, I need to talk to you.::

His eyes didn't miss the almost concealed jolts the four femmes gave.

**~~~TFFF~~~TFFF~~~TFFF~~~TFFF~~~**

I laughed at a lame joke one of the new recruits told, worrying on the inside as to what Optimus wanted to tell Jolt and Sideswipe. It had startled all of us when we heard Optimus' regal baritone across our comms, underscored with worry and tension. Of course, I reflected, we probably should have realized that we could hear it – after all, both our robot and car modes had Autobot insignias.

I had done my best not to flinch when I felt Ratchet scan me. None of the humans let on he had, so I figured that they just couldn't feel it. We, however, could. It honestly felt as if someone had taken a feather and run it all over our protoforms. I had had to bite back giggles several times.

I checked my watch and yawned, stretching like a cat. "Where do we bunk? It's ten and I'm about ready to pass out..."

Major Lennox grinned and pointed to several bunkers by the hangar. "There. Women are in three, men in two. We start drills tomorrow at 0600 hours."

I nodded, setting my mental alarm before stumbling off towards the bunker – it had been a stressful day and I was about ready to pass out where I was standing. Several of the other recruits followed me, and we all staggered into the bunker. I took the one of the beds farthest from the door, my family settling into the three beds surrounding mine. As soon as my head hit the pillow, I was out, recharging peacefully. My last thought was to activate my internal alarm for 0530.

**~~~TFFF~~~TFFF~~~TFFF~~~TFFF~~~**

I shot straight up with a shriek the next morning as a giant bullhorn went off at 0500. I wasn't only one – people all along the bunker were sitting up, terrified and startled. I groaned and pulled on a fresh uniform, staggering outside to see Lennox standing there looking smug.

I stared at him for a second, then growled, storming past him and the Autobot with him and muttering, "Damn smug sonuvabitch... Gonna get you back for that..."

I headed to the mess hall, ignoring the laughter I heard behind me. Once inside, I got in line and stared at the goop they were handing out before turning around and leaving.

I passed Sargent Epps as I left and he asked me, "Not eating?"

I stopped and looked at him. "That's not food. It was _twitching_."

He laughed and headed in, and I headed back to the bunker. Most of the people had staggered out already, leaving just my family.

I glanced around then headed over to them and whispered, "We'll have to find a place where we can transform later. We need to refuel, and not off of foodstuffs."

There were moans of agreement and we all dragged ourselves outside for morning drills.

Lennox and Epps met us with the rest of the recruits. They seemed almost...gleeful. I was instantly on alert, glancing around suspiciously and noting that none of the Autobots were around.

Lennox stepped forward and barked, "Alright. Drill this morning! Your job is to get to home base! Home base is the officer's lounge. You must avoid being seen by any of the Autobots or soldiers! You can work together or alone, but there are weapons hidden around base. If you are spotted, you will be attacked, humans with paintballs, Autobots with giant globs of paint! You have until 1700 hours to complete this task. Good luck."

I stared at him before yelling, "Are you fucking kidding me?"

He tapped his arm before pulling out a M17 and grinning. My eyes widened and I grabbed my family before booking it. We hid behind some crates, finding several AK47s. Maya and I grabbed them, Rikina and Eva scouting.

Maya focused and nodded before whispering, "I know where everyone is." She sent us and encrypted file packet that overlayed the map in our HUDs.

I stood and, peeking out cautiously, sniped two soldiers. We slipped out, keeping low and moving from object to object. We were doing fine, taking out soldiers where we could, until it came time to cross the giant open space to the officer's mess.

I peered around the corner, whipping back and hissing, "shit." I turned to Eva and the others and mouthed, 'It's Ironhide!'

Maya flailed her arms silently and mouthed back, 'Now what?'

I glanced around and, spotting a machine gun, tossed my AK47 to Rikina. I grabbed the machine gun and crouched low, looking around the corner. When Ironhide's back was turned, I sprinted out and raised the machine gun. I fired a short burst, aiming at the junction of his gun and his arm, where I knew his armor was weak. Green paint splashed across his arm, three blotches clearly marking out the weak spot and taking that gun 'out'. He spun around pointing his gun and I pulled the trigger, leaving paint blotches all over his body, some hitting weak spots. He managed to fire a shot before he 'went down', and I dove to the left, getting splashed by paint, but not enough to 'seriously harm' me. My family sprinted out and we made it to the officer's mess, where we collapsed and laughed. Now all we had to do was wait.

**~~~TFFF~~~TFFF~~~TFFF~~~TFFF~~~**

::Prime, I'm out.::

Ironhide's voice crackled across the comms and the radios tuned to Autobot frequencies.

::How?::

::Ichika. She took out my wrist and, when I turned around, opened fire. She hit my weak spots and took me down. I managed to get a shot off, but she dodged it. Something isn't right, she shouldn't have been able to do that, at least not yet.::

::You're right, there is something off of with her and her family.::

Will's voice crackled across, voicing the suspicions in everyone's mind.

**~~~TFFF~~~TFFF~~~TFFF~~~TFFF~~~**

At the end of the drill, we were the only ones who made it, everyone else being 'killed' or captured. We were also the only ones who managed to bring down an Autobot.

As we headed back to the gather point, my phone rang. I pulled out and froze before spinning around (we were in viewing range of the Autobots) and practically screaming, "Ari?"

She laughed. "Hey, Yoki!"

"Where are you? Why did you vanish a year ago? How are you? Are you hurt? Can we come get you?"

"No, you can't come get me. I'm not in the same universe, let alone the same galaxy."

I furrowed my brow. "Huh?"

"I'm on Cybertron. Before the war. And as for why I vanished a year ago, well... My story isn't the same as yours."

"I'm soo confused right now..."

She laughed again. "I'm calling to tell you four things. One, they're getting suspicious."

I turned and looked at the Autobots. "Okay..."

"Two, you can trust them. They won't lock you up, well. Not for long anyway. If you wait until later, they'll just be mad and consider you a security risk. Three, our destinies were only entertwined for a little bit. You'll see me again, but it may take a while. Four, Primus is responsible for all of this. He's truly sorry so many people have had to die, but you can change it. You can stop most of the deaths! And he's been trying to talk to you, but you're blocking him somehow. Oh, I have to go! Tell everyone I said hi and that I'll see them eventually!"

I involuntarily thought of the brushing sensation I sometimes felt, and stared at my phone as she hung up. "Okie dokey then..."

I looked at my family. "We have to tell them. If we wait until later, it'll only make things worse for us."

**~~~TFFF~~~TFFF~~~TFFF~~~TFFF~~~**

Will watched as the quartet seemed to debate something amongst themselves. "We have to confront them. Preferably where there's less of a danger risk. They seem to truly care about the other recruits..."

Optimus dipped his head. "We will confront them here."

**~~~TFFF~~~TFFF~~~TFFF~~~TFFF~~~**

We headed over slowly. Just as we were about to join the recruits, Lennox stepped in front of us.

"Who are you, really?"

I glanced at the others, startled. "Who we claim to be."

He snorted. "No human knows how to take out a Cybertronian without training."

I tilted my head. "What's a Cybertronian?"

It was Ratchet's turn to snort. "Don't play dumb."

The recruits were beginning to look confused. I glanced at the others again and they took the hint, slowly backing up and spreading apart.

"Who said we were playing dumb?"

Ratchet leaned down. "Why can't I get scan results off of you?"

I looked at him strangely. "You scanned us? You sure you're not paranoid?"

He growled and Optimus looked at us sorrowfully. I sighed.

"We haven't been completely honest..."

Maya piped up, "Or straightforward, not that anyone's ever asked the right question..."

Will looked me in the eye. "_What_ are you?"

I looked back, holding his look. "We _were_ humans. At least until it was decided we could do more good as something else."

He looked frustrated. "Well?"

We were far enough away and far enough apart. I nodded and triggered my transformation. I closed my eyes, ignoring the gasps and the clanking as we transformed, thinking, _Well, it was fun while it lasted..._

"I knew it." Ratchet's smug voice caused my optics to fly open.

I snarled, my deeper and more regal voice making the sound feral and evil. "You know _nothing._"

He stepped back automatically as Optimus stepped forward. "Why do you have the Autobot symbol?"

I stared at him. "Isn't it kinda obvious? ...No? We're Autobots... I think."

I tilted my head to the side and smiled. My wings arched out behind me, glinting dully in the sun. I registered a roar and blinked in surprise. Ironhide had Eva by the throat and off the ground.

I blinked again and was next to Ironhide, black blade pointed at his throat. "Drop her."

I didn't recognize my voice. It was dark, and just the sound of it sent shudders down my spine...spinal strut.

He let go reluctantly and I instantly dissolved my swords and grabbed Eva. The nanobots rushed through her protoform, fixing the minor damage Ironhide had caused.

I turned and glared at him. Eva coughed and whispered, "Your optics...They're red..."

I closed them and took a deep breath, beating my temper into submission.

"I would normally scold you for that," Will said darkly, "but I think it was deserved."

I felt the space behind my eyes prickle as I reared back. I stood and turned so he couldn't see the look on my face. "Sorry. I was just trying to stop a repeat of nine years ago."

I started walking, transforming down as I did.

Optimus spoke then. "Where are you going?"

I spun around, my family at my sides. "We're obviously not wanted here. Don't worry, we'll keep your secret, just like we've kept our own."

Optimus sighed. "I am truly sorry about this. SIDESWIPE, JOLT! DON'T LET THEM ESCAPE!"

I whirled around, cursing, to see the silver Corvette and the blue Volt right behind us. "MOVE!"

We split into two groups, Rikina and Eva in one, Maya and me in another. I heard tires squealing and Ratchet yelling before there was a dull _unf_ and I fell.

_Bastard,_ I thought, _EMPs are cheating..._

**~~~TFFF~~~TFFF~~~TFFF~~~TFFF~~~**

**...That sucked. And had very little snark and no Decepticons. I'm sorry! However, it is the longest chapter yet! Which might make up for the fact I was supposed to have this out forever ago... :P**

**I suck!**

**So, yeah. Review! Spread the love! Add this to a community! Do something, don't just stare at the screen!**

**Oh, yeah. Seven pages in Open Office and 2734 words! Hmm, that seems down...**


	8. Um, ow?

**Ohmigawd! I am STILL ALIVE! Now that that's out of the way... *clears throat ***

**Sorry to everyone! I know a lot of you actually like this story and I haven't updated it since sometime back in July, but that's because I had no internet. I just figured out that I can get on Fanfiction at the library (unlike Tumblr, which is classified as "Pornography" *shakes head *), but I'm not there right now. Still, it's nice to know the only thing that'll keep me from updating now is my own laziness.**

**Alerts/Favorites: TheLoveDov, metalatron-she-lives, McCrane55, BornWithTheSupercell, Dunk234, TheReapersDaughter, Jazaline Lupus, crazy-ghost-girl, Chainlinkmind, Jade Aislin, primesgirl4, phychicsanonymous, kneegirl, Foresthunter, and sanityisgone. Wow. This is actually getting kinda long. Cool.**

**Reviews: TheLoveDov, Emma (Guest), phychicsanonymous, and Foresthunter. Yay! More reviews!**

**Also, Kat: It is ABOUT TIME you got around to reading this! It's been up for almost SIX MONTHS! *grumbles ***

**And another thing: How do I know you guys actually like this story? For all I know, you could just favorite the story, then delete the alerts! Seriously, I need feedback, peeps. What you like, what you don't like. This is pretty much your story, too. I dropped the plot line last chapter (because I realized it was flawed and didn't feel like erasing; that's also why the last chapter was so random :P), so it's off the top off my head now. You can influence it too!**

**Now that I've made myself look stupid: I have another story(ies) going up. They're for when I have no inspiration on this se—er, story. One is most definitely going to be a Charlie Bone series fic, the other's kinda divided right now between Star Trek and a 95 chapter story. Y'know, for the 95 other people that were in the warehouse with our main characters. Whom no one seems to care about, since no one's mentioned them. -.-'**

**Disclaimer: Fuck you. I've said it seven times, you should know by now. *glares ***

**Right. On with what you actually want.**

**~~~TFFF~~~TFFF~~~TFFF~~~TFFF~~~**

I was the first to reawaken, finding myself back in the hangar. I sat up and looked around. We were in a cordoned off area, surrounded by a crackling blue barrier. Beyond it, human soldiers roamed around their Autobot allies. I winced as my head throbbed dully. A quick check of my HUD revealed the problem – less than three percent in my fuel tanks. I hopped off the standard-issue cot and headed for my duffel bag. I was in an angsty mood, so I pulled out one of my custom T-shirts and camouflage-print cargo pants and changed. The shirt was grey, with an orange square on it. In the orange square were the words "Sometimes I wish I was a bird... so I could fly over certain people and shit on their heads."

I stretched, feeling my muscles unwind a bit, and yelled, "Hey!"

I smirked as everyone jumped. Will came over and glared at me. "What do you want?" he spat at me.

I tilted my head and considered his question. "To be human again, to have never heard of Transformers, to be amongst people who trust me and know I would never harm them, world peace, a kitten, and a safe place to live for my family and me. But since you can't really provide any of that, something to eat would be nice."

He blinked, before turning and striding away. I sat down and leaned against a cot, trying to ignore the steadily worsening pain in my head. I slipped into light recharge, waiting for someone to come back.

People started shrieking and I opened my eyes to see a toddler standing right in front of me. Apparently the barrier didn't affect organics.

"Hello," I said cautiously, wondering if she would start screaming.

"Hi!" she replied cheerfully. "My daddy says you're a bad guy."

I tilted my head. "Oh, really? Did he say why?"

She nodded. "He says you're a Dece-Decep-Decepthingy spy and that you only re-re-reveal yourself cuz you made a mistake. He also says that if they didn't lock you up, you would hurt us badly."

I looked into her solemn blue eyes and told her seriously, "I will never hurt you. The only people I hurt are the ones who hurt me and my family."

She nodded. "My name's Annabelle."

I smiled at her. "I'm Yokiri. You can call me Yoki, if you want."

She hugged me. I stiffened with shock, before forcing myself to relax and hug her back.

"You should probly go back, your family must be getting worried," I told her after she let go. "However, before you do, I have something for you."

I got up and sprinted to my bag, sliding on my knees the last couple of feet. I dug through it, looking for the silver and gold thread bracelet I had put in it before we left. I found it and ran back to her.

"Hold your arm out, please," I said cheerfully.

She did as I requested and I looped it twice around her wrist. "This is a special bracelet. If you ever need my help, just think of me, and I will come."

Her eyes wide, Annabelle nodded and left through the barrier. A red warning sign flashed on my HUD and I groaned, slumping to the side as my body started to go into emergency stasis. I staggered to my feet and stumbled over to my bag, where I opened a side pouch and pulled out an aluminum flask. Inside it was energon, made from chemicals I had acquired and kept with me.

Drinking energon in human form is bad – our systems are designed for human food, not Cybertronian life blood. If we drank energon in this form too often, the systems that converted the elements in human food to energon would shut down, and we wouldn't be able to eat or drink anything while we were human-sized.

Of course, it _was_ an emergency.

I tilted my head back and downed all of the purple goop, making a face at the the metallic taste and slight burning as it went down. My energon levels went up enough to stop all the warning signs, but I would have to transform up and drink more soon, or I would go into emergency stasis.

Eva woke up then, yawning and stretching. "Is there food, Mom?" she muttered sleepily, before the events of earlier caught up and she sat bolt upright. "Where-"

"Are we?" I finished drily. "Try hangar 666."

She grinned in reply to my smirk before asking, "So we're prisoners?"

I shrugged and slumped to the ground. "I wish I could answer that, Bee-chan."

She sighed and came over to lay on the ground with me. Just then four cubes of energon came flying through the barrier. We both rolled out of the way to avoid getting brained by them and I sat up to glare at the major.

"Watch where you're chucking Cybertronian beverages, asshat!"

Eva cracked up at that. "Jeez, Mom, throw verbal knives!"

I sighed and looked at the cubes. "We can't eat that."

Her stared at me. "You just drank some purple energon."

Eva stopped laughing and stared at me in shock. "Mom!"

"It was an emergency. I was about to go into stasis!"

"Oh... Sorry."

I glared at Will, who was watching us curiously. "We can't eat energon in this form. Our systems are designed so that when we're in human form, we can eat human food. If we drink energon repeatedly in this form, it could shut down the system permanently."

Ratchet piped up then. "Most interesting. I would love the chance to study this further."

Eva panicked. "No! No!" She turned to me. "Please, Mom, please! Don't let them..."

I lunged for her and wrapped my arms around her, ignoring the feel of everyone watching us.

"Shhh. They won't get us. You'll never have to go through that again. I will die before I let them go at you with a needle and a knife."

Both Optimus and Ratchet seemed to reel at that. "What are you talking about?"

I turned to look at them. "I'm talking about the scientists who turned us into freaks and then treated us like we were less than the humans we used to be."

Dead silence echoed through the hangar, just as Rikina and Maya woke up.

**~~~TFFF~~~TFFF~~~TFFF~~~TFFF~~~**

The shock reeling across the comm. lines was almost palpable. Sideswipe snorted to himself and thought resentfully, _Great, now I'm thinking like them!_

If Sunny were here, he would've said something about Sideswipe thinking.

_But he's not here, is he?_ Sideswipe thought bitterly.

He was alone, patrolling the border of Diego Garcia, thinking about his missing brother. Sideswipe growled and took off, sliding in the dust as he shot around the border.

::_Sideswipe,_:: Optimus's regal baritone echoed over the comm. lines, edged with some strange emotion.

::_On it, Bossbot._:: That was another thing. They had spent so much time around the humans that they had started using their nicknames for the Autobots.

He fishtailed, accelerating towards the base.

_What,_ he wondered, _could be important enough to cancel patrol?_

**~~~TFFF~~~TFFF~~~TFFF~~~TFFF~~~**

I updated Rikina and Maya on the situation in a few terse sentences over our private comm. lines. They huddled close to Eva and me, looking just as miserable as we felt. Sideswipe screeched into the hangar, and I felt my spark give a pang. I sat up and frowned.

At the edge of my mind, I heard a barely audible whisper, _Yokiri..._

_Primus?_ I thought, tilting my head in confusion.

_You must save them.._ All at once, I was hit with pain and an overwhelming sense of despair and hopelessness.

_No!_ I screamed out, accidentally over the internal communication lines.

The Autobots turned as one to look at me as I curled up on my side, shaking with the foreign feelings. I don't know haw I knew, but I could _tell_ they weren't mine.

**~~~TFFF~~~TFFF~~~TFFF~~~TFFF~~~**

The yellow 'bot was badly scratched and damaged, leaking green energon everywhere. He continued to stagger through the desert, deliriously thinking that he was heading somewhere, when he was only going in circles.

As he was hit with a fresh wave of pain, he was overwhelmed with despair and hopelessness.

_Goodbye... Sides..._ he thought as he crashed into the ground, his body going into emergency stasis.

**~~~TFFF~~~TFFF~~~TFFF~~~TFFF~~~**

Every Autobot on the base jumped as the scream tore through their internal comms. They turned and looked at their prisoners to see Yokiri curled up and shaking.

::_This...this can't be possible!_:: atchet gasped. ::_Her signal is reaching out, headed for another one!_::

::_Can you get a lock on it?_:: Optimus asked urgently, concerned at how the other signal was fading.

::_No,_:: Ratchet replied, shaking his head. ::_It's fading too fast._::

Maya sat up now, her face scrunched in concentration. ::_Sahara desert. It's an Autobot, hold on a sec..._::

They turned to her, gaping as she focused on the signal. ::_My god! It...It's Sunstreaker!_::

Sideswipe lunged forward. ::_What?!_::

Optimus turned to Major Lennox. "Captain, there is a badly damaged Autobot in the Sahara desert. We will also need to take Maya Ichika-Sameda and..." he glanced at Yokiri, who still curled up with tears streaming down her cheeks, "Yokiri Ichika."

Eva lunged to her feet. "If you're taking Inu-chan and Mom, then I'm going too!"

Rikina was on her feet in seconds. "Hell, yeah! You have to take all of us!"

Sideswipe scoffed. "And what good will you two do?"

Rikina glared at him, before all four's signals vanished. "Try me, pretty boy!"

Eva scowled. "Rikina's good at computers, and I'm good with communications, dumbaft!"

"Stop..fighting..." They all turned to see Yokiri sitting up, tears in her eyes and a glare on her face. "He's..._dying_... and you're arguing like... sparklings. We'll _all_ go... because we're all _needed_."

Optimus rumbled, "I agree. Yokiri, are you able to transform?"

She nodded and the shield was deactivated. They all watched as she transformed from human form straight into car form.

Her door popped open, and her voice sounded, forcefully cheerful, "Anybody need a ride?"

Sergeant Epps gasped, "A Corvette?"

Yokiri's cheerfulness sounded less forced as she said, "A Corvette Z06, to be exact. Maya's a Pontiac Solstice, Rikina's a Porsche Carrera GT, and Eva's a Camaro SS."

Epps looked about ready to swoon. He announced, "If I get a ride in one of you, I love you all forever!"

Rikina transformed and popped a door as she said somewhat affectionately and exasperated, "Men."

Epps ignored her and practically dove into the driver's seat. Alex walked over to Yokiri's still open door and bent down, talking to her quietly before sliding in. Nathan Cross crawled into the backseat as Eva and Maya changed into their vehicle modes. The NEST soldiers split up, some heading for the four new femmes.

**~~~TFFF~~~TFFF~~~TFFF~~~TFFF~~~**

As I headed for the airstrip, the awkward silence was... well, awkward.

I finally broke it, saying, "I'm sorry, you two. It's just we couldn't tell anyone without the government freaking out. If you don't believe me, wait until you meet a yellow and black Autobot named Bumblebee and ask him what the government did to them when they first got a hold of him."

Nathan leaned forward past one of the other recruits and patted my dash. "I understand, Yoki. It's just a bit much to take in that my friend of three years is actually a giant, black, ass-kicking robot in disguise."

I snickered. "Thanks, Nate."

Alex grinned. "It's like I said. I can't really be mad. After all, I don't know you that well. And it's nice to know that I can't get a date before I get my hopes up."

We all laughed, and I turned on the radio, just in time to hear the tail-end of a discussion. "..do we know we can trust them?"

Optimus's voice, sounding heavy with doubt, answered, "I don't know."

"How about giving us the benefit of the doubt?" Eva piped up angrily. "Y'know, giving us time to actually prove we're not gonna murder you all in your sleep?"

"Eva!" I snapped. "Relax! Everybody's freaking out! Stop and think – how would you react if you thought that there weren't any more Autobots in hiding in Earth and four suddenly popped up with a story about being turned into robots by their own government?"

Eva sounded a bit more subdued as she said, "I'd be paranoid..."

"Exactly," Rikina said. "So chill."

Optimus broke back in, sounding grateful as he said, "Thank you for being so understanding."

Maya shot back, "Thank Yoki. She's the voice of reason."

Sideswipe growled, "I won't be thanking anybody until we get Sunny."

As if on cue, a fresh wave of pain hit me. I swerved slightly, before speeding up, muttering, "Shitshitshitshitshitshitshii iiiiiiiit..."

"Is it getting worse?" Ratchet asked worriedly.

"No," I answered grimly. "It's getting weaker."

Silence fell, and they all matched my speed.

**~~~TFFF~~~TFFF~~~TFFF~~~TFFF~~~**

Ten hours later, we were on the edge of the Sahara, and I was practically squirming.

"Okay," Will said, hanging up. "We have the go ahead."

I peeled out like a rocket, shooting off towards the ever fading sense of pain and despair.

_Don't give up!_ I thought desperately. _We're on our way!_

I felt a faint sense of acknowledgment and sped up, the other Autobots right behind me.

**~~~TFFF~~~TFFF~~~TFFF~~~TFFF~~~**

Sunstreaker was exhausted. He had almost bled out, and was hanging on the edge of life when he felt it – the flare of an aura, a signal, so pure it almost seemed white.

_Don't give up!_ came the almost desperate thought. _We're on our way!_

Sunstreaker shoved acknowledgment towards it – no, her, he knew it was a femme somehow, and that she was important. He tightened his slipping grip on life and waited for her.

**~~~TFFF~~~TFFF~~~TFFF~~~TFFF~~~**

**Yay! We're done! I'm evil!**

**Seriously, you'd think that this would be longer for the amount of time between updates... And that it would be better... Oh, well, I guess.**

**Leave a review! Let me know what you think! It's so easy! Don't be like me! Reviews make update! I'll include an awesome hot chocolate recipe, too*!**

***Recipe requires twenty reviews by the first of December.**

**Seven pages in OpenOffice and 2,383 words. WTF? Why does that seem down?!**


	9. Rescues and Angst

**I'm so sorry, everyone. I am a horrible person.**

**The truth is, my muse for this story up and died. I've had no inclination whatsoever to actually write anything for this. Don't worry though, I kidna—er, **_**found**_** another muse. The story will continue, for now at least.**

**Alerts/Favorites: TheLoveDov, metalatron-she-lives, McCrane55, BornWithTheSupercell, Dunk234, TheReapersDaughter, Jazaline Lupus, crazy-ghost-girl, Chainlinkmind, Jade Aislin, primesgirl4, phychicsanonymous, kneegirl, Foresthunter, sanityisgone, Pharuhi13, Zombiegirl0203, CalicoKat35, RyuuZetsumei, southern hickup, and ****WinchesterBrozRMineBitchesxD****. Thanks, peeps!**

**Reviews: CalicoKat35 and southern hickup.**

**Apologies to Pharuhi13. I would have gotten you on the list for the last chapter, but I didn't check my e-mail before I updated. Thanks for reviewing!**

**Disclaimer: The only thing I own of this series is bootleg copies of the three movies and the first two seasons of Transformers Animated. That's it. No more, no less. I also only own bootleg copies of the songs used here. You should listen to them, even though they really are angsty.**

**~~~TFFF~~~TFFF~~~TFFF~~~TFFF~~~**

I pushed myself to the very limits of my endurance, ignoring the warnings that were flashing about low energon levels. I crested a sand dune and practically flew down it, fishtailing to cut my speed and to avoid hitting the collapsed form of the Autobot lying at the bottom. The humans inside screamed like pansies.

My doors popped open. "All humans out!"

They scrambled to obey and I transformed up, staggering a little, before I stumbled across the sand to Sunstreaker. "Sunstreaker! Are you still there? Answer, please."

His eyes flickered on. "W-who a-a-a-are y-y-you?"

I winced. "More important later, you're barely alive now."

I pulled my tools from my subspace pocket and set to work as the other 'bots pulled up. Sideswipe was at my side instantly, his faceplate grim. "What can I do to help?"

I shot a glance at him. "Just stay there and talk to him. Knowing you're here will soothe him."

He nodded and started talking instantly, telling him about squishies and screaming like femmes and the interesting pranks that were possible here while I worked. Ratchet took one look and started helping me wordlessly.

It was a while before I sat back with a sigh. "He's stable, for now."

Ratchet nodded in agreement. "Now for you."

My optics widened and I scrambled up. "What?"

Ironhide stood behind me. "We must make sure that you aren't a Decepticon spy."

I rolled my eyes and turned around. "If I was a Decepticon spy, why would I—"

My body shut down, going into emergency stasis as my tanks emptied, sending me crashing down into the sand next to the twins.

**~~~TFFF~~~TFFF~~~TFFF~~~TFFF~~~**

They all jumped as Yokiri crashed in the middle of a sentence, sprawling on the ground. Ratchet was instantly at her side, swearing in Cybertronian as he scanned her.

"Her energon levels are critical!"

Eva and Maya glanced at each other. "Why does she do this?! She knows she needs energon as much as we do, but she always drinks less!"

"That reminds me," Will spoke up, "how have you been getting energon?"

Rikina sighed. "Yoki makes it. She has a chemical formula for it, and she works hard to get the chemicals for it, but you can't buy mass amounts of them without a reason or a government permit, so she can only make limited quantities."

"It's purple," Eva announced.

Eyebrows went up at that, but Ratchet shook his head with a sigh. "I'm going to need someone's help. We can't take both of them back with us, so we have to get enough energon in Ms. Ichika so that she will awaken from emergency stasis."

"I'll do it," Maya said, stepping forward. "Yoki taught me some medical skills in case she was hurt."

Ratchet nodded and moved out of the way, holding a cube of green energon out. "This is medical grade energon."

She nodded and knelt next to the prone form of her foster mother. Reaching out, she located a direct line to her tanks and carefully started pouring the energon in. Pausing every so often to let the energon drain, she continued until the cube was empty. She then closed it and poked Yokiri's face.

"Mom. Mooooom. Mom mom mom mom. Mooooooom moooooom mooooom. Wake uuuuuup…"

Yokiri twitched and smacked Maya's hand. "Feed yourself."

Eva snickered. "My turn."

She slid down and started poking Yokiri's chassis. "Wakeupwakeupwakeupwakeupwakeup, we gotta get back to base before the Decepti-creeps come lookin'!"

Yokiri onlined her optics and glared at the two of them. "Okay, I'm up."

She stood, shaking sand off, and staggered a bit. "Oooookaaaay, now I'm dizzy."

Ratchet scanned her, causing her to yelp in surprise. "Your energy levels are still low, but you should be fine."

She shook like a dog then nodded. "Let's go."

**~~~TFFF~~~TFFF~~~TFFF~~~TFFF~~~**

The ride back was silent. The other 'bots were still glaring suspiciously at us, but the new recruits were more than willing to talk to us.

"So how did it happen?" Alex finally asked, just as we crossed back into American airspace.

I noted everyone was listening intently and winced. "It was painful. Very, very painful. Every bit of our DNA was being rewritten; our organic, fleshy matter was becoming metal. I spent most of it knocked out from the pain. It was terrifying. It felt like I had these tiny worms crawling through my cells changing them, and it lasted for about a month and a half. I'm not sure who was luckier, those who died or us."

"Did anyone else survive?" Nathan asked, another question that everyone was curious about. "How many were there?"

Maya shuddered before answering. "One hundred people went in, of every age and race. Only five walked out. One is missing, and you are talking to the other four."

Dead silence fell, one that lasted for the rest of the ride.

**~~~TFFF~~~TFFF~~~TFFF~~~TFFF~~~**

The instant we landed, the four of us were shoved back into our cage. We transformed down to avoid stepping on anything and sat there silently twitching.

"I feel like a dog," I announced after a while. "Y'know, one that's allowed out when it's useful, but is shoved back into its crate when it isn't."

My family grinned at the comparison before sobering – it was true in a way that was scary. After a while, the tension built up and we split to get rid of it.

We all had ways of getting rid of our tension – Maya concentrated on finding different objects, animals, and places, Eva figured out upgrades for our communication systems, Rikina drew designs for supercomputers. I usually hit something. We all danced to relieve stress, me more than the others.

I fidgeted, well aware that I couldn't do anything, before I sat up. They had never said we couldn't play music.

With that thought in my head, I strode over to my bag and pulled out my iPod and my dock. Scrolling through the playlists, I chose one titled 'Angsty' and shoved the cots out of the way. Everyone stopped to watch as I stretched before I hit play and stood in the middle of the area I had cleared. Not Strong Enough by Apocalyptica floated out.

"_I'm not strong enough to stay away,_

_Can't run from you,_

_I just run back to you."_

I moved with the music, dancing to get rid of the angst that had built up.

"_Like a moth I'm drawn into your flame_

_Say mah name,_

_But it's not the same._

_You look in my eyes_

_I'm stripped of my pride_

_And my soul surrenders_

_And you bring mah heart to its knees_

_And it's killin' me when you're away,_

_And I wanna leave and I wanna stay,_

_I'm so confused, so hard to choose_

_Between the pleasure and the pain!_

_And I know it's wrong, and I know it's right_

_Even if I try to win the fight_

_Mah heart would overrule my mind_

_And I'm not strong enough to stay away._

_I'm not strong enough to stay away_

_What can I do?_

_I would die without you._

_In your presence my heart knows no shame._

_I'm not to blame._

_And you bring mah heart to its knees._

_And it's killin' me when you're away,_

_And I wanna leave and I wanna stay,_

_I'm so confused, so hard to choose_

_Between the pleasure and the pain!_

_And I know it's wrong, and I know it's right_

_Even if I try to win the fight_

_Mah heart would overrule my mind_

_And I'm not strong enough to stay away._

_There's nothing I can do,_

_Mah heart is chained to you!_

_And I can't get free._

_Look what this blood did to me!_

_And it's killin' me when you're away,_

_And I wanna leave and I wanna stay,_

_I'm so confused, so hard to choose_

_Between the pleasure and the pain!_

_And I know it's wrong, and I know it's right_

_Even if I try to win the fight_

_Mah heart would overrule my mind_

_And I'm not strong enough to stay away._

_(Not strong enough, strong enough)_

_(Not strong enough, strong enough)_

_To stay away!_

_And I'm not strong enough to stay away!"_

I stopped, arms up, facing the barrier and breathing heavily. I could feel everyone watching me while I waited for the next song to come on.

"_The lights go out all around me,_

_One last candle to keep out the night._

_And then the darkness surrounds me._

_I know I'm alive but I feel like I've died."_

I smiled and moved. This was a sad song, about pain, but also happy for the hope it provided.

"_And all that's left is to accept that it's over._

_My dreams ran like sand through the fists that I made._

_I try to keep warm, but I just grow colder._

_I feel like I'm slipping away._

_After all this has passed, I still will remain._

_After I've cried my last, there'll be beauty from pain._

_Though it won't be today, someday I'll hope again._

_And there'll be beauty from pain._

_You will bring beauty from my pain._

_My whole world is the pain inside me._

_The best I can do is just get through the day._

_When life before is only a memory,_

_I'll wonder why God lets me walk through this place._

_And though I can't understand why this has happened,_

_I know that I will when I look back someday,_

_And see how you've brought beauty from ashes,_

_And made me as gold purified through these flames._

_After all this has passed, I still will remain._

_After I've cried my last, there'll be beauty from pain._

_Though it won't be today, someday I'll hope again._

_And there'll be beauty from pain._

_You will bring beauty from my pain._

_Here I am, at the end of me,_

_Tryin' to hold to what I can't see._

_I forgot how to hope, this night's been so long._

_I cling to Your promise; there will be a dawn._

_After all this has passed, I still will remain._

_After I've cried my last, there'll be beauty from pain._

_Though it won't be today, someday I'll hope again._

_And there'll be beauty from pain._

_You will bring beauty from my pain."_

Maya had joined me by the end of the song and we stood facing each other. "This was a good idea."

I smiled. "That's why I did it."

Eva and Rikina joined us as the next song came on.

"_Pain, without love._

_Pain, can't get enough._

_Pain, I like it rough,_

_Cuz I'd rather feel pain than nothing at all!_

_You're sick of feelin' numb,_

_You're not the only one._

_I'll take you by the hand_

_And show you a world you can understand._

_This life is filled with hurt_

_When happiness doesn't work._

_Trust me, and take my hand,_

_When the lights go out you'll understand._

_Pain, without love._

_Pain, can't get enough._

_Pain, I like it rough,_

_Cuz I'd rather feel pain than nothing at all!_

_Pain, without love._

_Pain, can't get enough._

_Pain, I like it rough,_

_Cuz I'd rather feel pain than nothing at all!_

_Anger and agony_

_Are better than misery,_

_Trust me, I've got a plan,_

_When the lights go up you'll understand._

_Pain, without love._

_Pain, can't get enough._

_Pain, I like it rough,_

_Cuz I'd rather feel pain than nothing at all!_

_Pain, without love._

_Pain, can't get enough._

_Pain, I like it rough,_

_Cuz I'd rather feel pain than nothing_

_Rather feel pain!_

_(I know, I know, I know, I know)_

_I know that you're wounded._

_(You know, you know, you know, you know)_

_That I'm here to save you._

_(You know, you know, you know, you know)_

_I'm always here for you._

_(I know, I know, I know, I know)_

_That you'll thank me later._

_Pain, without love._

_Pain, can't get enough._

_Pain, I like it rough,_

_Cuz I'd rather feel pain than nothing at all!_

_Pain, without love._

_Pain, can't get enough._

_Pain, I like it rough,_

_Cuz I'd rather feel pain than nothing at all!_

_Pain, without love._

_Pain, can't get enough._

_Pain, I like it rough,_

_Cuz I'd rather feel pain than nothing at all!_

_Rather feel pain than nothing at all,_

_Rather feel pain!"_

We laughed, forgetting where we were, and danced to slightly less angsty songs, including Drops of Jupiter by Train, Without You by My Darkest Days, Livin' La Vida Loca by Ricky Martin, and Cooler than Me by Mike Posner.

**~~~TFFF~~~TFFF~~~TFFF~~~TFFF~~~**

The instant the first song had started, everyone on the other side of the barrier had tensed. They had all relaxed somewhat when it turned out to be a song, even though it was slightly angsty.

"I feel bad," Nathan said randomly. "They haven't done anything wrong. In fact, they're heroes. I can name at least ten soldiers for each of them that went home to their families because of those four. That doesn't seem like something a Decepticon would do."

Alex nodded. "You're right. Yokiri's really charismatic. She used that to get the vast majority of the recruits to stay. Wouldn't a Decepticon have used that to leave NEST high and dry on recruits?"

Optimus, who was idling nearby, rumbled, "You have a point, but both Ironhide and Ratchet are suspicious."

Nathan snorted. "Ironhide thought a Chihuahua was a Decepticon spy and Ratchet makes a schizophrenic look sane. I don't put much stock in their opinions. Yokiri's my friend. She's saved my life multiple times, even when she was stressed as all hell. Maya and Eva are constantly keeping people's moral up, even if they only act like idiots to do it. Rikina may be all over the place, but she cares, and that's all that counts."

There was a yell of assent from the rest of the recruits, while Ironhide grumbled to Will nearby, "She's turned them against us."

Will snorted. "Just you and Ratchet."

**~~~TFFF~~~TFFF~~~TFFF~~~TFFF~~~**

We collapsed into a giggling pile of girl as I stretched and turned off my iPod. "Well, that was fun."

Eva nodded happily. "We should do that more often."

Rikina sighed dreamily. "To think we're actually with the Autobots, even though we're in a cage…"

I giggled again. "Dreaming about a certain Day-Glo yellow search and rescue Hummer? Or is that a general statement?"

Rikina swatted me. "I saw you making eyes at a certain Corvette!"

I rolled away. "Bitch!"

"Whore!"

"Cybertronian hooker!"

"They don't have hookers, you dumbass!"

"That's why you're so unique! You're so creepy, you make love to computers!"

"At least I don't drool over cars! Cars, dammit, hunks of inanimate metal that will never talk to you!"

"Oh, and computers do? Are you schizo, too, now?"

"Gah, there is no talking to you!"

"You said it, not me!"

Eva and Maya watched the two of us wrestle on the floor as we continued to insult each other. "It's sad to think that this is where we learned most of our insults…"

"Yeah, and they're supposed to be best friends. It makes me wonder what they were like in high school."

"It was probably very interesting."

"What was?" Nathan asked as he flopped down next to them, causing them both to jump.

Eva was the first to recover. "Oh, we were just talking about Auntie and Mom in high school."

"Yeah," Maya nodded and gestured to the two of us rolling around, "if that's what they're like now, what were they like in high school?"

We paused and I answered, "Pretty much more of the same. We haven't really aged much mentally since then."

I glanced at Rikina and smirked evilly. She smirked back and we both got up, yelling, "GET 'EM!"

We were careful to avoid trampling Nathan as we tackled Eva and Maya, the two of them yelping as they slammed into the floor.

"No fair! We weren't ready!"

"Too bad, suckers! You snooze, you lose!"

With one last "Hey!" our two daughters descended into laughter as we tickled them mercilessly.

Alex joined Nathan on our floor and commented, "I bet it was a lot of fun growing up with those two."

Nathan laughed.

**~~~TFFF~~~TFFF~~~TFFF~~~TFFF~~~**

**Welp, there you go. Chapter Nine, mostly humorous filler. Please review, I might update faster.**

**Also, the songs were, in order, Not Strong Enough by Apocalyptica, Beauty from Pain by Superchic[k], and Pain by Three Days Grace. I have every song mentioned here, and I recommend you listen to all of them. They are amazing.**

**Ten pages in Word (yes, I switched back. Our schools gave us laptops that are pretty much hard drives with Microsoft Office and barely any internet access. Plus they're MACs. WE ARE WINDOWS CHILDREN! *****glares *) and 2694 words. If you count the A/N's, it's almost three thousand. ;)**

**REVIEEEEW, I'M BEGGING YOU! I'M REREADING MY CHAPTERS AND FINDING ERRORS! HELP MAKE THIS STORY ERROR-LESS! PLEEEEAAAASEEEEE!**


	10. Freedom is Sweet (but followers aren't)

**So I've been internet deprived for a while. I typed this chapter up before I posted the other one, so… yeah. We'll have more plot, songs and humorous fluff, because I love all of you like that. Review?**

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**Reviews: Demigod Princessa of the Sea.**

**Gimme some credit, peeps. I updated! I know it was five months, and I'm sorry. Fowgive me? 3:**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Transformers. It's a great series, but it wasn't my idea. It was some dude in Japan's idea. I'm jealous of that dude. Even though he's probably dead.**

**~~~TFFF~~~TFFF~~~TFFF~~~TFFF~~~**

I stared at the Autobots and the soldiers on the other side of the barrier. I had been doing that for the past two weeks. Rikina, Maya, and Eva decided to leave me alone after the second day. I was currently staring at Major Lennox. He kept glancing at me uncomfortably and I knew it would only be a matter of time before he exploded.

Sure enough, it only took two minutes before he marched over and yelled, "What?!"

I raised an eyebrow and answered, "I have no idea what you're talking about."

He growled at me. "You've been staring at me all day. _Why?_"

I sighed and pouted at him. "I'm really, really bored. I haven't done anything at all for two weeks and if I don't do something soon, I'll explode into a giant pile of bored."

He twitched and I smirked to myself. "We don't know if you're spies yet, so we can't trust you to wander around the base."

I fell backwards. "But we've already _seen_ your base! If we were Decepticons, wouldn't we have already busted out by now?"

Ironhide sighed and I nearly jumped out of my skin. I hadn't heard him come up. "I hate to say it, but the femme is right. As long as they have escorts, I don't see the harm in letting them out."

I popped up and yelled, "YES! FREEEEEEDOOOOM!"

People gave me weird looks but I ignored them as I victory-danced. My family watched me with amusement. The barrier flickered before vanishing as Optimus designated our guards. Rikina was, amusingly, going to be escorted by Ratchet. Maya would be escorted by Jolt, Eva by Ironhide, and me by Sideswipe, which meant I would be spending a lot of time in the medbay as Sunstreaker recovered.

I laughed at the look on Eva's face. "Sucks to be you, bitch."

She stuck her tongue out at me. "Maybe we'll become best friends!"

I fell over and started gasping, flopping like a fish. "Stop! Please! It hurts!"

She scowled. "You suck, Mom."

I lay on my back, gasping and giggling weakly. "Oh, my god. Best friends with Ironhide. Eh heh. Eh heh. Hooooo…."

Rikina just looked at me. "Woooow… You really are horrible."

I sat up and stood. "I needed that… To medbay!"

I skipped off, Sideswipe trailing after me, bemused.

Behind me, I heard Maya and Rikina descend into laughter and grinned.

**~~~TFFF~~~TFFF~~~TFFF~~~TFFF~~~**

I sat in my robot form and stared at Sunstreaker's still form. He was in emergency stasis and no one knew when he would come out. The only damage left was aesthetic, scratches in his sunshine yellow paint.

I turned to Sideswipe. "Do you think he would wake up if I tried being super annoying?"

He looked startled. "I guess you could…try it."

I leaned over Sunstreaker's still form. "Sunny… Sunny, it's time to wake up."

No response.

"Suuuuunny… Yo, Streaker!"

Still no response.

"Sunshine and daisies! Buttercup! Banana peel! Wake up or all the high grade'll be gone!"

Sunstreaker's optics flickered. Encouraged, I continued, "Yeah, we're really partying without you. Maybe we'll get paint and wax and strip your paint job and then paint you neon…purple! And then, we'll put orange and blue polka dots on top!"

His optics onlined and I lunged backwards, slamming into Sideswipe as Sunstreaker shot up.

"Holy fuck!"

Sunstreaker looked around wildly. "Not my paint job!"

Both Sideswipe and I paused before we started laughing. He looked at us blankly before realizing it was his brother and a femme he didn't know.

I sighed and leaned forward. "Hi! I'm Yokiri!"

He eyed me confusedly. "Sunstreaker."

Sideswipe piped up. "And I'm Sideswipe."

I smiled happily. "Oh! Ratchet told me to give you this, make sure you stay away from the high grade and make you get some recharge, even if I have to force you into stasis."

I handed him a cube of medical grade energon. He tossed it back and then settled down to sleep. Sideswipe climbed up and laid down next to his brother.

I turned the lights down and tossed a blanket over the two of them before pulling my laptop out and sitting on the edge of the berth.

**~~~TFFF~~~TFFF~~~TFFF~~~TFFF~~~**

It was a couple of hours later when a noise made me look up from the game I was playing. Ratchet stormed in with Rikina following like a lovesick puppy.

"Shh!" I hissed at him, causing him to pause and look at me. "They're sleeping!"

He nodded and pointed at a corner. Rikina immediately went over and sat down. I rolled my eyes at her, jumping when I felt Ratchet scan me.

"You need to refuel," he informed me, unsubspacing another cube of medical grade energon.

I transformed up and downed it. "Why is Rikina in a corner?"

He handed me another cube and grumbled, "She keeps getting in the way."

I shrugged. "You have to tell her how she's getting in the way, and how she can fix it."

She glared at the two of us and I waved at her. "I'm right here!"

He eyed her speculatively. "Really?"

I nodded and downed the cube, making a face as he handed me another cube. "Are you trying to overcharge me on med grade?"

He glared at me. "You are vastly undernourished."

I shrugged. "My family's health is more important."

He paused and looked at me with something akin to respect. I pointed at him. "No. You are not supposed to respect me. We are supposed to be the grumpy medics who don't get along and don't want to share a medbay!"

He gave me a skeptical look and shrugged. "We can be that. I still respect you for your dedication to your family. Now drink. You have three more cubes."

I sighed and drained it.

**~~~TFFF~~~TFFF~~~TFFF~~~TFFF~~~**

We were talking quietly when the twins woke up. I noticed them stirring and tilted my head at them. Ratchet nodded and we continued.

"I think I have it easier – my nanomachines can get places you have issues getting to with your tools."

He nodded. "Most bot bodies are designed for easy medical access. There are only a few body types that I have issues. Optimus's is one of them."

I tilted my head. "So you'd like help with him?"

He nodded again. "Yes, it will be nice to have another fully trained medic."

I looked at the twins. "Done eavesdropping?"

They jumped and sat up, looking guilty. "Sorry."

I laughed. "You have nothing to be sorry for."

Sunstreaker smiled at me while Sideswipe looked uncomfortable. I looked at Rikina. "I put in a request for the chemicals I need to make energon. Wanna watch? I may be able to get it to turn that neon blue again."

She perked up. "Hell yeah!"

We both headed for the door, the three mechs following, though Sunstreaker was ordered to take it easy under threat of pain. I ignored everyone else, transforming down and heading straight to Lennox.

"Do you have the stuff I requested?"

He pointed at a Transformer-sized table. I headed over and transformed up. I proceeded to start, following the chemical formula in my head.

**~~~TFFF~~~TFFF~~~TFFF~~~TFFF~~~**

**Sunny's awake! Yay!**

**If you review, you may get some funny Yokiri and Ratchet bickering! Jazz may be revived!**

**Word count: 1,247. That's down, ****I know. I wrote this the day we had to turn in our laptops, about an hour before. ._.**


	11. Mysterious Strangers are Mysterious

**Hello, my loyal fans and followers!**

**Now that I have THAT overly-cliche greeting out of the way, several things.**

**1) I've noticed inconsistencies in the story, like Nate saying he's known Yokiri and her family for four years, but them only being in that universe for one.**

**2) I'm still managing to spell words wrong. (Go me.)**

**3) The 'bots and humans are a tad OOC, sorry...**

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**Reviews: Autobot-Fangirl0203, Demigod Princessa of the Sea, Freefall928, Rebecca13787, and squishypeanut12.**

**So apparently if I beg, you guys review. Also, I realize that I have stopped answering reviews, and I'm sorry. I truly appreciate every one of them. In fact, I think I'm addicted. :p**

**Also, quick question – we've all seen how it ends, but I'm not sure how long it should take. I have a vague idea, but it's up to you guys. Give me your opinions, please? You can PM me if you want.**

**I have a Twitter now! When I update, I'll post on Twitter, y'know, "New chapter of WOTA is up, go check it out!" and include a link or something. echoesofmemory for those who are curious.**

**Disclaimer: Ten times. Ten flippin' times. I don't own frag all. So go away while I find a hole to curl up and die in.**

**~~~TFFF~~~TFFF~~~TFFF~~~TFFF~~~**

I started humming after a while, twitching every now and then as I felt everyone's eyes on me. The substance I was working on turned a violent orange before settling into a gunmetal grey. I swirled it gently, watching carefully as the grey slowly changed. Once it reached silver, I swiftly poured a powdered chemical, closing my eyes against the flash and grinned triumphantly at the electric blue. I gently set the container down and reached over and pulled out a single crystal, roughly the size of a human palm. Dropping it in, the mixture turned a pale pink. I sighed in relief and pulled a bag over along with a mortar, quickly mixing several different chemicals in it and crushing them thoroughly, making a green paste and scraping it in. There was a bit of smoke, and then we had purple energon.

**~~~TFFF~~~TFFF~~~TFFF~~~TFFF~~~**

::_Fascinating._:: Ratchet sounded close to obsessed, watching closely as the femme combined the chemicals to create an organic version of energon.

::_Indeed._:: Optimus sounded faintly amused.

Sunstreaker watched, amazed. ::_Frag, she's smart!_::

Ironhide grumbled, ::_I still don't trust them._::

Just then, Yokiri's voice cut across the comm. lines, ridiculously amused. ::_I can hear all of you, you do realize? And Ironhide, I always knew there was something wrong with your processor._::

He growled as the others laughed.

Yokiri turned and grinned. "Boss Bot, wanna try some? It's not poison I promise."

She held out the concoction, now in a cube, out to him. Optimus hesitated only a second before taking it and sipping warily.

His optics widened in surprise. "This is good!"

She laughed, carefree and somewhat happy. "Don't sound so surprised."

Yokiri transformed down, stretching cheerfully. "Naaaaap..."

**~~~TFFF~~~TFFF~~~TFFF~~~TFFF~~~**

I stumbled out, vaguely hearing Ratchet asking for the formula. I ignored him, bone-weary all of a sudden.

I continued to stagger down the hall to the room that my family and I shared, _fwump_ing on my bed and passing out instantly.

**~~~TFFF~~~TFFF~~~TFFF~~~TFFF~~~**

I was sitting cross-legged, comfortably cushioned by flora all around me. Giant redwoods stood over me like ancient sentinels, guardians who had seen the earth change over the many years.

Behind me, twigs snapped, and I smirked. "Hello."

The Cybertronian stepped around the base I was leaning against, shrunk to human size to fit in. "And how exactly did you know it was me?"

I shrugged. "Between Ari and the strange sense I have, I guessed."

He laughed. "Smart."

He settled next to me and leaned forward, optics glowing benevolently. "You need to learn to talk to me."

I nodded in understanding. "Why?"

Something shifted behind the glowing orbs, and he answered, "There is much that is wrong. An...outside force was needed to correct it, but also a force that understood the importance behind certain actions."

I nodded again and acquiesced to his teaching.

**~~~TFFF~~~TFFF~~~TFFF~~~TFFF~~~**

I woke up in darkness, groggily looking around before deciding to go find food.

I walked down the hallway, yawning widely, ignoring the strange looks I was getting. Walking to the cafeteria, I made a beeline for my family. "Anything edible?"

Rikina looked up and choked. "Oh. My. Primus. What the frag happened to you?!"

I blinked before looking in the mirror she held up. I had a brand new silver symbol on my forehead. I squinted, before realizing the symbol read, "Daughter".

I smiled before stealing the rest of Eva's hot dog. "Thanks, Bee-chan."

She scowled as I chowed down. "Really? Really, mom? You HAD to steal my hot dog?"

I swallowed and said, "Yep."

She groaned and sunk down into her chair.

**~~~TFFF~~~TFFF~~~TFFF~~~TFFF~~~**

After BSing my way through the interrogation of the Autobot leading staff, I wandered into the medbay and transformed up. A quick glance in the mirror showed the symbol was still there, albeit clearer.

Sunstreaker and Sideswipe watched me curiously as I hummed gently, opening cabinets and rooms in an effort to familiarize myself with the areas. After all, I _am_ a medic.

After a while, they started clicking and chattering to each other, becoming thoroughly distracted. Moving quietly, I slipped into the storage room, overriding the medlock on it.

Inside was Jazz's body, partially repaired. Moving over to it, I pulled out the sheets of metal that I had requested along with the chemicals, subspacing them when no one was looking.

Setting them beside his body, I activated my repair nanobots and they got to work, using the atoms of the metal to fix the major damage.

While I was working, I heard Ratchet enter the medbay and yell at the twins when he realized I wasn't there.

They yelled back and Ratchet was starting to reply when I shifted and knocked a sheet off the precarious stack. It clanged loudly on the floor and I swiftly stooped and set it back up. I urged the nanobots faster as I heard the door swish. Ratchet yelled at me, though I couldn't hear him. With one final surge, they finished and swarmed up my arms.

My world swayed and darkened before tilting. Ratchet grabbed at me and missed, clipping my arm and sending me onto my back.

**~~~TFFF~~~TFFF~~~TFFF~~~TFFF~~~**

I was back in the forest. I sighed and turned to see my friend. "Y'know, you really could have better timing."

He laughed. "I just saved you from an interrogation."

I snorted. "Making up for earlier, with your glowy tattoo?"

He smiled at me fondly. "Just marking you as one of my own. If not for the war, Orion would know."

I frowned. "Know what?"

He smiled mysteriously and held out his hand. "Here."

I reached out and picked up a cube. It would easily fit into my human form's palm.

I looked up. "What's this?"

He was fading. "Hope. Hope for the future..."

"Oh..." I gasped softly as it clicked and looked down at the innocuous cube.

**~~~TFFF~~~TFFF~~~TFFF~~~TFFF~~~**

**Aaaand that's chapter 10! It would've been up sooner and longer, except family drama has been making me all "argh", sooo... yeah... And Minecraft ate some of my time. First time playing it in over a year.**

**I suck so bad...**

**Well, review please? It'll help me feel better, oh wonderful readers, plus it's incentive to write faster!**


	12. Battlefield

**I am a bitch. I am so sorry I took so long to update. Shit has just been happening in my life and argh and a hospital.**

**Wait, what?**

**Anyway, thank you for the patience all of you have for waiting for my insane life to get back on schedule (somewhat). I shall do my best to update without waiting four months+ to do it.**

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**Reviews: CeciliawillsayHYPER, Fallen Angel 1243, Spirit Kiss, Mistra Rose, Scion Nexus Prime, and JerseyPrime23.**

**As always, thank you with lots of love. ^^**

**Oh, hey, the Hobbit fan event was tonight. Sooo pumped.**

**December 13th, bitches.**

**~~~TFFF~~~TFFF~~~TFFF~~~TFFF~~~**

I woke up in my family's shared room. In my giant, robotic hand, I was clutching a small cube. I carefully opened a small chamber by my spark chamber and shifted down.

After hopping off my bed and landing with a _thud_, I headed for the door. Ratchet was outside, head down, recharging. I carefully snuck out and got about halfway down the hall before he powered on.

"What the-"

"SPRING BREAK!" I shrieked, transforming straight to car mode and peeling out.

Behind me, I could hear Ratchet swearing in Cybertronian. ::_Stop, Yokiri!_::

::_NEVER!_:: The other 'Bots jumped as I shrieked over the lines, fishtailing into the hangar and popping my doors.

"Family in!" My metallic voice still sounded funny to me, partially because I didn't usually spend much time in robot form.

Rikina, Eva and Maya looked at each other before diving in. I slammed the doors shut and took off through the open hangar door and out onto the base.

As I ran from the Hatchet, I kept swerving to avoid soldiers and other personnel, at one point launching myself up and over a cargo truck before coming down on the other side and taking off again.

Throughout the entire chase, we were accompanied by Ratchet's swearing and hysterical laughter from 'Bots and soldiers alike.

Even Optimus was amused. ::_He will catch you eventually. The longer you delay, the worse it will be._::

::_I'm tired of him having his creepy pedo paws up my armor!_:: I said back, to the hysterical laughter of Will and Epps and Ratchet's pissed off roar of rage. ::_Seriously, he's the Pedo-bear of the 'Bots!_::

Rikina had tears streaming down her face as she choked out, ::_You are so gonna die._::

Instantly sober, I turned back to the hangar and slowed down. Maya sensed my mood change and asked quietly, ::_What's wrong?_::

Everyone shut up immediately.

I sighed. ::_Lots of things, and I can only fix a fraction of them. Do have some good news, though._::

::_Oh?_::

I didn't get to tell them, because the Decepticon alert went off.

**~~~TFFF~~~TFFF~~~TFFF~~~TFFF~~~**

It was Barricade and Starscream, attacking Moscow.

"Not Moscow!" I cried dramatically. "It's a hub of cultural history and significance!"

Rikina and Eva edged away slowly as Will and Nate's lips twitched. Optimus frowned at me and I made an apology face back before shutting up and being quiet.

Will and Epps went through the debrief. There would be two teams, each grouped with half of the current Autobots. There would be two platoons assigned to each Autobot to assist them. I was faintly aware of Ironhide grumbling over the comm. Lines about how the stupid fleshies would just get killed and sent him massive waves of disapproval as well as a promise to show him _just how stupid we fleshies really are_. He shivered and edged away as well.

The four of us – Maya, Rikina, Eva, and me – were confined to base, which we protested loudly. We could fight and were willing-had, in fact, already fought Decepticons and won. I claimed I could target their structures and bring them down easily, but was shot down. I warned the others not to try, that I had a plan.

We told everyone we were going to go stay in our room, ignored the cracks about pouting, and left. Once in our room, I opened the window and we slid out before sneaking over to the cargos they were using and hiding inside.

It took them three hours before they shipped out. We made jokes while we waited, even though we weren't nervous. It was a technique I had taught them to keep the fear from rising and the nervousness away.

When the troops walked out, no one looked happy. There were waves of great unhappiness flowing over the comm. lines, and the soldiers themselves were stiff and frowning. We kept quiet and still, barely moving for fear of being heard.

**~~~TFFF~~~TFFF~~~TFFF~~~TFFF~~~**

It took another three and a half hours to get to the designated landing zone. The planes landed and off-loaded, then powered down to wait until the battle was over. We waited thirty minutes after everything had stilled before dropping off and heading out.

It didn't take us much more than twenty minutes to get to the battle zone, and what we saw froze our sparks.

It wasn't two Decepticons. It was forty.

They were vastly outnumbered and losing ground, though no one was severely injured. We shared glances and moved as one unit, synced, silenced, and deadly. We slipped around to the back of the pack and started harassing them, dragging off and killing one quietly, then posing the body where it could be seen. I took potshots at the still-fresh 'Bots, hitting energon lines and important cables, sending them into stasis and then offline.

We killed maybe ten that way, and the 'Bots took another three or four. And then one of the Decepticons aimed at Optimus.

I was closest out of everyone and could easily see that it was a kill shot. I let out a scream of hate-fueled rage and exploded upwards, blades forming and swinging.

I took that fucker's head right off.

I heard angry swears from all sides – family, 'Bots, soldiers, Decepticons – but ignored it in favor of de-arming and de-feeting a nearby target before slipping my pretty, slim digits under his face seam and ripping his head off. Those nearby backed off.

I shrugged and grabbed my back-up gun and shot them in the processor before throwing myself at a nearby Decepticon.

The tide quickly turned in our favor and I started having fun. Ratchet and I teamed up for a while before being split, then the twins joined my side, then Ironhide. I was alone again when I heard the _snick_.

I spun around and saw a half-online Decepticon aiming his gun at Optimus's exposed back. By the way his optics were dimming, I knew he meant for it to be a kill-shot.

I wasn't fast enough to get over to the fucker and kill him. I did the next best thing.

"_OPTIMUS!_" My scream echoed over the field, catching everyone's attention, as I leapt over the bodies and shoved him out of the way just before the Decepticon discharged.

The blast hit my spark chamber square-on, sending me flying into a nearby building.

My last thought as my world went black was, quite simply, _I'm sorry._

**~~~TFFF~~~TFFF~~~TFFF~~~TFFF~~~**

**I am such a fucking troll.**

**Sorry it's so short. Also sorry about the cliffhanger. (Not really.)**

**I won't take four months to update, I promise. I'll try to have it out next week.**

**I'm off to go be a troll.**

**(Review and maybe I'll update faster. '-')**


	13. Safe and Sound

**Okay, so I said I'd update soon... and I didn't. I apologize.**

**Of course, I got grounded, sooo... Not all my fault?**

**Well, here's the next chapter.**

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**Thanks, guys. I feel kinda bad about the cliffhanger. Not much, understand, but some.**

**~~~TFFF~~~TFFF~~~TFFF~~~TFFF~~~**

I blinked my optics. The air was a strange purplish color.

"Huh. Trippy."

I became aware of the fact that I had a body, and it didn't hurt. This fact was mildly surprising. After all, I had been shot in the chest. Right through my spark chamber, in fact.

I should've been dead.

Of course, I wouldn't be that lucky.

I spun around at a clanking sound and sighed as another mech came into view. "Really? Can't I have some peace?"

He laughed, his voice rich and clear. "Of course not."

I groaned and sat back down. "Of _course_ not..."

He sat next to me. "Yokiri, I brought your family here for a reason. I brought _you_ here for a reason."

I looked at him. "Oh? Do elaborate."

He ignored the heavy sarcasm. "There was too much death, too much carnage. I needed someone who could walk the hair-thin line of interfering too much and saving lives. But it would have been too much for one person, they would go insane."

I snorted. "Uh, dude? If I tried to walk that line, it would snap. Mostly cuz I weigh over 20 tons now."

He smiled. "It's time for the next stage of your journey. If Optimus had received proper instruction, he would know, but the war..."

I finished for him. "Broke out before he could. What are you talking about?"

He smiled sadly. "A Cybertronian must die before they become a leader, a Prime."

I stared at him. "Primes are male."

"Not all."

"Yes all!"

"No, they just aren't called Primes."

"Then what are they, Omegas?!"

"No. They're _Muliebris_."

"God-bot say what?"

"It means 'femininity' in the language Optimus took his name from."

"So, what, I'll be Yokiri Muliebris?"

"No. You'll get a new name entirely. However, you can still go by your old name. Humans are sentimental, correct?"

"Some, yeah..." I laid back with a groan. "This was easier when all I had to do was avoid detection. Now I'm going to be a leader? Soooo trippy..."

He smiled at me. "You get to change your body, you know?"

I popped up. "Really?! Cool!"

He laughed. "Orion was not always that big. Of course, the priests did the modifications for him. You'll have to do your own."

"Because there's no more priests..." I frowned. "That's sad. Will I know the entire history and culture of Cybertron?"

He shook his head and held up my cube. "No, but you will be able to access it." He handed it to me. "Take more care with this, young one. If the wrong people get a hold of it, bad things will happen."

I hung my head. "I'm sorry."

He patted my head and faded away, leaving a 3-D schematic of my body behind. "Place the runes and change what you wish, Daughter."

I looked at the screen and got to work.

**~~~TFFF~~~TFFF~~~TFFF~~~TFFF~~~**

I don't know how long it took me to finish, but when I was done, I sat back with a grin. There were a set of three similar-looking runes across the holograms faceplates and one on the back of its head. The rest of the runes were scattered on the body, one on the hip, a few making an ornate design on the back. Two identical runes rested on the back of the servos. The body was taller and slightly wider. The ears were now pointed and on the top of the head and it had a tail. I giggled softly. The overall appearance was of a neko!furry black 'Bot. The protoform had more covering, though flashes of blue still showed when it walked. The swirls over the chassis had been replaced with a similarly colored design of flowing wings.

"I'm done," I said quietly.

"Good," his voice came behind me, causing me to jump. "You need to return."

The purple light shifted, turning to blue, then white. I started floating upwards, as if gravity had been reversed.

"Wait!" I called, struggling against the pull. "What's my Prime name?"

"Filia Muliebris, child."

**~~~TFFF~~~TFFF~~~TFFF~~~TFFF~~~**

When my eyes cleared, I was standing on a dock in a seaside city. I quickly checked – human form, slightly taller than it had been, dressed in a black military uniform. I shrugged and stretched, standing up. A quick internet check showed that I was in Portland. I made a face, then whirled around at a slight _blip_. It was definitely an Autobot.

I slunk off between the decks, towards where it came from. The only vehicles in this direction were a police car, a forest green Mazda 3, and a blue-highlighted black Lambourghini. As I approached them, I noticed a strange buzzing, and slowed down, walking with my hands out. I could sense their wariness and I waited until I was closer to actually examine them.

In the middle of the police symbol was an Autobot face.

My head went up. "Holy crap, Prowl?!"

Three cars jerked. I shook my head. "Oh, wow... I don't know who'll be more excited to see you, Optimus or Ratchet!"

A police man got out of the car. I could see polygons in his skin, which was new, and blinked as he glared at me with glowing blue eyes. "Who are you?"

My brain randomly decided to be a smart-ass. "Bumblebee's new girlfriend. He lets me _riiiiide_ him."

The other two cars made choking and spluttering noises, which I ignored in favor of opening a comm. line to a friend of mine. "Heyyy, Lindsey... Can I get a ride to a top secret military base in the Indian Ocean?... I have three reeeeaaaally pretty cars with me!...Thanks..."

**~~~TFFF~~~TFFF~~~TFFF~~~TFFF~~~**

Lindsey was a smuggler. She was a CIA smuggler, though, so she got clearance to drop the four of us off on the opposite end of the island as the base. Prowl was not happy with me and neither were the other two, who turned out to be Cliffjumper and Hot Rod.

"Oh, come on, guys!" I complained as I hiked and they drove over the sand dunes. "They saw me get shot! I can't just call them on my link and be all, 'Hey, guess what? I'm still alive!' They'd flip the fuck out!"

Cliffjumper snarled at me, "Who are you anyways! I've never met any Cybertronian like you!"

I threw my hands in the air. "We went over this THREE TIMES!"

I plugged my ears and ignored them for the rest of the trip.

**~~~TFFF~~~TFFF~~~TFFF~~~TFFF~~~**

Sneaking onto the base was easy. I guess everyone was mourning or something, because there were minimalistic security measures being used. We managed to get to Hangar 666 surprisingly easily.

I peeked in. My body was sitting in the middle of the room and Eva was crying silently. Rikina had her head bowed and I couldn't see Maya. The 'Bots I could see were standing or drifting aimlessly, seemingly shocked.

I took a deep breath and leapt into the middle of the floor. "What the hell?! Why is everyone moping?! I thought you'd be partying when I was gone!"

It really was a testament to how sad and unprepared they were to see anything. They just stared at me. I flailed.

"Oh, my god! What the hell?! What if I was a Decepticon?! You'd all be dead!" I spun around and flailed at the three I'd dragged with me. "This is so sad! Prooooowwwwwl!"

He growled. "Don't say my name, squishy!"

I made a face at him. "Aaaand now you sound like Megabitch. Well done. Been practicing?"

Behind me, I heard a weak, "Yoki?"

I turned and smiled at Eva. "The one and only, Bee-chan."

She threw herself at me, making me stagger back to avoid falling. "Mama!"

She started sobbing again, so I sat down and held her, singing softly. "Just close your eyes, no one can hurt you now, it'll be alright, you and I'll be safe and sound..."

The other three cautiously transformed as the rest of my family came over, hugging me and touching me, trying to see if I was real.

Optimus spoke then, disbelieving. "What – how - ?"

"Primus." I made a face. "He left me in Portland. I hate Portland!"

Eva laughed, hiccuping as she cried. I disentangled myself and walked over to my old body. "This. Is. Sooooo. _Trippy_."

I kicked the side of it, yelping when the nanobots swarmed me. I shifted up and attempted to shake them off. When I couldn't, my brand-new ears went back and my tail swished.

"Dammit!" I froze. "What the...?"

My voice, while regal sounding before, now sounded like the voice of a goddess. I made another face.

"Well, okay then..." I turned back to my three new friends. "I don't normally sound like this, I swear."

Their faces held open awe. They knelt as I frowned in confusion and the old nanobots settled with the new ones. The sun came out then, warming my plates and bathing me in gold. I looked at the silverish runes, which appeared to glow.

"Okay, that's cool." I grinned at Optimus, who looked confused. "He didn't mention this!"

"Who didn't?"

"Uh, probably Primus. I dunno, I never asked his name. Apparently I'm a female Prime now...?"

Optimus sat heavily, shocked now. "How...? I saw you die!"

I bowed my head. "A 'Bot must die to become a Prime... Only by dying can they transcend and have the hand of Primus laid upon them, to act in his name and as his living embodiment..." I shrugged. "Or something like that."

The cube in my chest pulsed once. I looked down and shifted, dancing to escape the zombies that threw themselves at me.

"Gotta do something really quick, be back soon, promise!"

With that, I sprinted out of the hangar and to the medbay.

**~~~TFFF~~~TFFF~~~TFFF~~~TFFF~~~**

**Well, cliffhanger again, but not so bad this week. Yay?**

**OMG, it DIDN'T take me a month to get this out! :D**

**I feel fantastic!**

**Also, LazyTown is amazing.**

**Review plz? *puppy eyes***


	14. Undead Antics are Quite Fun

**So, uh... I apologize for the month (or so) long wait? I've been really busy, what with actually doing my schoolwork and setting up my Youtube and getting involved on Tumblr and shit...**

**Gomenasai.**

**I actually am sorry about the cliffy this time. Shocking, no?**

**Oh! We have plot this time! :D**

**Not a lot, mind you. Just some. Don't wanna give you guys a heart attack. :)**

**On a note that is only related through strange and convoluted reasoning in my mind, should I post this on my AO3 account?**

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**Sorry for the wait, again. My life took a nosedive off the cliff of 'meh' into the waters of 'holy fuck, I'm busy'.**

**As usual, much love and hugs, and forgive me for my jumping obsessions.**

**So yeah, on with the story and shit. That's why you're here, isn't it?**

**~~~TFFF~~~TFFF~~~TFFF~~~TFFF~~~**

I sprinted into the medbay and locked the door behind me. There were a few people trying to get in, but I ignored them in favor of my prize.

"I fixed you," I said, smiling down at Jazz's prone form. "Now you need to come back."

I pulled the tiny cube out and held it near his open spark chamber. It flashed and glowed, before the glow shlupped off and fell into the cavity, igniting and pulsing stronger. After a minute, the chamber closed and the rest of the body booted. I stored the cube and stepped back.

He groaned. "Wha' the..."

I chirped, "Gooooood morning! Welcome back to the world of the living, Jazz! I'm so glad you were given this opportunity. I'm Filia Muliebris, or if that's too much of a pain in the ass to say, just call me Yokiri. I'm the Prime of the human-Cybertron hybrids. The door is locked – the code is 81635. I'm going to transform down and crawl through this air vent. Have fun talking to Optimus and Ratchet."

With that introduction, I fled, leaving the poor bot blinking in confusion.

**~~~TFFF~~~TFFF~~~TFFF~~~TFFF~~~**

I sat in one of the rarely used meeting rooms. Honestly, the base was so much bigger than it needed to be. I didn't mind usually, and didn't especially now, but it was irritating at certain points.

"I wonder..." I mused softly, my brain flicking an idea off that it then latched onto and started expanding.

I was debating opening a virtual schematic when the door opened, revealing Major Lennox, Epps, and a slightly pissy Maya.

"Do you know how hard it is to track you now?" she complained. "Every time I tried to find you using the usual markers, it pointed me to your corpse! It's a good thing I remembered you have cat ears and a tail now, or we'd've never found you!"

"I'll keep that in mind," I replied, distant as I stood and exited, my mind firmly focused on my idea, turning it over and over in an attempt to find any gaps.

They gave each other perturbed looks and followed me back to the main hangar, where Optimus was quietly talking with Jazz, Prowl, and Ironhide and Ratchet was doing a very good impression of a gremlin. I hesitated in the door, saving the plan to review more later, before stepping in and stretching.

I spun around, tagged Maya, and sprinted away, shrieking, "You're it, bitch!" at the top of my lungs, instantly getting the attention of everyone in the room.

She paused for a moment, shock showing clearly on her face, before she shook it off and ran after me. I spring-boarded over the still Hot Rod, snickering at his growl. Maya slid around it, trying to corner me. I just climbed Optimus.

"Hey!" I greeted him cheerfully when I reached his shoulder.

He nodded and glanced at Maya, who was now climbing him with determination, amusement shining in his optics. I waited till Maya was more than halfway up, then leapt off, pushing against Optimus's shoulder with quite a bit of force. I soared about halfway across the hangar, rolling as I hit the ground.

I popped up with a grin. "God damn, Maya, you're so _slow_!"

She growled at me and launched herself off of Optimus, tackling me after rolling. "Who's slow _now_, bitch?!"

I burst out laughing, hugging her hard. Oh, yeah. Life, at that moment, with Ratchet, Ironhide and Prowl glaring down, the rest of the soldiers, both Cybertronian and human, enjoying our antics, was perfect.

**~~~TFFF~~~TFFF~~~TFFF~~~TFFF~~~**

I was not surprised when Ratchet, glaring all the while, informed me he wanted to run some scans. "I don't care that you sound and act like Yokiri, I'm going to slagging make sure you are, and if you aren't, I'm going to send you to the Pit!"

"Aw, thanks, Ratch, didn't know you cared," I snarked, making sure to stay utterly still as he ran his scans.

I got some pretty nasty swears in response, though they cut off as he reviewed the scans. "What the frag is that in your chest?!"

I froze and shuffled, laughing nervously. "It... may or may not beatinyversionoftheAllsparkthatPrimusgaveme."

I was met with stupefied stares, someone finally snapping out of it to say, "_What_?"

I pulled it out and held it up. "Ta da? Please don't kill me?"

Shocked stares.

"I think this is a bad time to be – AAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHH! GODDAMNIT, RATCHET, YOU DON'T DO SHIT LIKE THAT, YOU MOTHERFUCKING PIECE OF GLITCHING SCRAP METAL!"

**~~~TFFF~~~TFFF~~~TFFF~~~TFFF~~~**

I sat facing away from Ratchet, my face still a deep, deep red. The cube was back in my chest, though it had taken some convincing after my little screaming fit.

"I said I was sorry!"

"I don't give a shit, you don't just stick your giant-ass mitts into someone's _insides_! That constitutes rape!"

Eva and Rikina were trying valiantly to stifle giggles, causing me to glare at them. "Damnit, you two, I was just fucking _violated_ by the resident _medic_, the least you two could do is show some support!"

They couldn't hold it in anymore and exploded into full-gale bellows of laughter. My lips twitched and I fought to keep the smile off my face. I was actually just giving Ratchet a hard time – I didn't really care, although it had startled me pretty badly when it had happened.

I grinned evilly. "I know exactly who you two would _love_ to be 'violated' by~"

They instantly froze at my dark purring tone, twin looks of pure horror on their faces. "You wouldn't dare."

"Would, too. Eva likes – _mmmrph_!"

I started laughing as Eva practically tackled me in an attempt to shut me up. Rikina started laughing again and even Eva couldn't hold in her giggles. The three of us collapsed together into a giggling pile of girl, causing Sam, who just happened to be walking by, to give us a weird look.

"Aaaaalrighty then," he muttered, shaking his head and walking off.

Ratchet coughed, catching our attention and reminding us he was still there. "I am still intrigued by your ability to turn what could be a potentially traumatizing situation into a funny one."

I sat up with a happy sigh, a smile still on my face. "It's a coping mechanism. Probably the only reason we're still mostly, well, somewhat sane."

Ratchet stiffened and muttered something in Cybertronian. "I am now suitably convinced that you are Yokiri. Be warned, I will be watching."

"Whatever." I flopped back down, staring up at the rafters before deciding I was tired and passed out.

**~~~TFFF~~~TFFF~~~TFFF~~~TFFF~~~**

I woke up in a car.

"Well, this is unusual."

The car vibrated. "So glad you have a sense of humor when you wake up."

I grinned. "I usually don't. What's up?"

I sat up and the door opened, letting me escape, his voice following me out. "Boss Bot asked me to keep you safe."

I patted Bumblebee's side in thanks, stretching to get rid of the kink in my back. "No stupidity-laden humans around, right?"

"Affirmative, although there is a meeting that is currently being held in order to discuss what is to be done with you and your old body. The humans want it to study."

I smirked. "We're just gonna pretend you didn't say that. Come on, we have a corpse to dismantle for parts."

It took us a little over three hours, but it was so worth it to see the faces of the commanding ranks as they came to look at it.

I waved. "Hi! I figured we could use it for spare parts, mostly because it's useless anyway. Besides, I wanna play with the alloys. Science and all that shit."

They were all white with fury, one attempting to speak. "You- you - !"

The slightly dopey expression fell and was replaced with one of pure concentration. When I spoke, my voice was as cold as ice. "Be very careful what you say next, as it may lead to places you do not wish to go."

They left after that, Optimus and Bumblebee staring at me in shock as I viciously yanked a valve from a coupling.

**~~~TFFF~~~TFFF~~~TFFF~~~TFFF~~~**

I didn't do much for the next few days – most everyone was jumpy around me, and I quickly learned zombie jokes were not appreciated. (Although seeing Galloway nearly piss his pants was damn near hysterical. He's mortally afraid of zombies. Who knew?)

I concocted some more energon in the meantime, replenishing the supplies as fast as I could, though it wasn't very fast at all. I also had to play keep-away with the mini-Allspark – the humans wanted to study it, my family wanted to poke it, the soldiers didn't trust me, and the Autobots just _really, really_ wanted it. It took several massive bitch-outs before everyone gave up and let me keep it.

In the meantime, I was getting dream-lessons from Primus. It was truly interesting to learn what all I could do, and see how much had been forgotten.

"So you're saying that, if I really wanted to, I could command Megatron – and all the Decepticons – to stop fighting, and they'd have to listen?"

"Yes, although it's only used in extreme cases."

"No offense, but this is pretty extreme."

"You would be taking away their free will."

"You're right, although it might be a good idea to give them a taste of what they want from the rest of the universe..."

"Yokiri, enough."

"Fine. What else can I do?"

"Make lives."

"God-bot say _what_?"

"You are capable of creating lives. In fact, your next project will be to create two."

"...You have _got_ to be kidding me."

**~~~TFFF~~~TFFF~~~TFFF~~~TFFF~~~**

**So yeah, chapter. It's done. Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year, yo. Hopefully this won't take me another year to complete. :)**

**Review, please? Might motivate me to write faster. *winks***


	15. Um do I look like a mom?

**I'm so sorry... I've been kinda distracted since the last update. I started taking college classes in addition to high school and GODDAMN they are hard.**

**Also, step-mom has been getting worse with her fibro and she's upset about being useless, and in pain, so issues there.**

**I've had this since February (I think? Maybe? Somewhere around there...) and should have posted it before now, so the most sincerest apologies.**

**On the plus side, I've seen the latest Transformers movies and they won't be happening here.**

**Oh, channel – www. youtube user/echoesofmemory**

**Go check it out! (I mostly do Minecraft vids. Don't hate me. ._.)**

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**Reviews: TheGhost129, Mistra Rose, JerseyPrime23, Nexia Jazilynn P, and MarshallAlexandraAnderson.**

**Thank you again to everyone on those lists. :)**

**Just a thought, though – why, if this story has OVER 3,000 hits, are only these ^ people reviewing and following? Seriously, I nearly had a heart attack when I saw the number of hits. O_o**

**Disclaimer: If I owned, would I be posting here? *eyebrow raise***

**~~~TFFF~~~TFFF~~~TFFF~~~TFFF~~~**

I sat there, staring at the god who had become my mentor. "I think I heard you wrong. I'm supposed to create _two lives_?"

He smiled serenely. "Yes. It is a good test of your powers. I trust you will be able to handle it."

I stared at him a little bit longer. "Nope."

He frowned. "No...pe?"

I shook my head. "Nope. I can barely control the people I have NOW, what makes you think I'm capable of creating and caring for two more?!"

He knelt and placed a servo on my shoulder. "I have faith in you."

I closed my eyes and breathed slowly. "All right. However, if they end up all messed up, I blame you."

He laughed as the dream faded to black.

**~~~TFFF~~~TFFF~~~TFFF~~~TFFF~~~**

I sat up in my bunk with a groan. "What time...?"

A glance at the clock revealed the oh-so-spectacular time of 1:25 AM. I was not happy.

"Sleep-deprivation and the task of caring for two lives..." I growled under my breath, swinging out of my bunk.

It was cold in my room, though it didn't bother me. I changed out of my nightclothes and headed to the space they had allotted me to work in. It had a completely blank high capacity computer waiting for me, and I figured I might as well work on that.

I was actually in the process of deconstructing it. I had a similar display back at the ranch, though it was upgraded. I had decided that, much like the one I had there, this one would be upgraded with holo-projectors instead of screens.

I froze when the idea hit me.

Primus never said whether or not they had to have bodies yet.

I tore through the building, running silently on bare feet, sliding to a stop in front of my door.

This was going to be amazing.

**~~~TFFF~~~TFFF~~~TFFF~~~TFFF~~~**

Lennox found me there about eight hours later. I was sitting in the middle of a massive amount of wires, working on connecting the 3-D display to the computers, which ended up having several wall-mounted monitors after all.

"Um... what are you doing?"

I spat the wire I had in my mouth out and grinned up at him. "Project. Why?"

He looked at his watch. "It's 9:30. There's a meeting in fifteen minutes that you're supposed to be a part of."

I shrugged. "This is more important. Like, world-saving kinda important. If I stop now, I'll forget. Besides, it should only take me about twenty minutes."

He stared down at me, obviously debating something, as I went back to work, carefully threading the little green wire in between the red and the gray ones. "Could you do it in ten if I helped?"

**~~~TFFF~~~TFFF~~~TFFF~~~TFFF~~~**

We finished in eight minutes. Lennox was actually very good at it, and it went a lot faster than I expected. We had to sprint to make it to the meeting on time, but we did get it finished.

I slid into my seat, panting slightly, and took a sip of the water in front of me. "Hi."

The military people there glared at me. Optimus looked amused.

"We're here to discuss your punishment for destroying government property."

I frowned. "Um, I don't think I have. Not _recently_, mind you."

One of the growled out, "The specimen of Captain Yokiri Ichika."

I brightened. "Oh! You mean my body!"

Optimus was frowning. "I have told you, you cannot have it. It is a Cybertronian body, and therefore not your _property_."

Everyone was now glaring at each other. I glanced back at Lennox as one of the other members shouted, "She was a human soldier!"

They all erupted, yelling loudly. Lennox shook his head and frowned me. I shrugged, turned, and stood, breathing in air so I could bellow.

"ENOUGH!"

Everyone froze and looked at me. I glared back. "It is neither of your jurisdictions, as the body was that of a Cybertronian-human _hybrid_. I am their Prime, it is my duty to dispose and/or allow access to it, and I chose to scrap it for parts. Do not forget we are fighting a war, gentlemen. Fighting amongst ourselves will only give the enemy an advantage. Now, if you will excuse me, I have work to do."

With that, I turned and left.

**~~~TFFF~~~TFFF~~~TFFF~~~TFFF~~~**

I went immediately back to my office. I had coding to do, plus I had to finish building the computer.

Lennox caught up with me as I walked back. "They're all pissed now."

"Good."

"Optimus will be in trouble for not telling them you were a Prime."

"He didn't know."

"He didn't?"

"Nope. Primus did that all on his own. Well, kinda. My government did it, Primus kept us alive. Speaking of which, I wonder how Ari's doing..."

"Ari?"

"Yeah. She was the fifth that survived. When we were shifted over here, she was sent somewhere else. Still think of her as family though."

"Oh. So, what are you going to do with your workspace?"

"I'm going to build a self-aware AI that will run the systems here and eventually be transferred into a Cybertronian body."

"..."

"You okay there?"

"Please tell me you're joking."

"Why would I joke about that?"

"I'm going to pretend I didn't hear that so I don't have to stop you."

"Okay?" With that, he left. I shrugged and finished the walk back to my space.

**~~~TFFF~~~TFFF~~~TFFF~~~TFFF~~~**

It took me another three hours to finish setting up the computer. I immediately booted it and started writing the code for my AI.

Maya stopped by with food, raising a disapproving eyebrow over the streams of code flashing across all seven screens. "Whatever you're doing, I don't want to know."

I smiled up at her. "Thanks, Inu-chan."

I ate with one hand and coded with the other. It was actually kind of easy, mostly because I used variations on the coding in Cybertronian processors. I got about an eighth of the coding I wanted to do done before dinner.

Rikina dragged me out. "It can wait, you need food."

I sighed and went along, looking forward to eating.

**~~~TFFF~~~TFFF~~~TFFF~~~TFFF~~~**

That night, when I passed out, he was there, looking amused. "Interesting way of doing my task. However, that's only one."

I shrugged. "I'll think of something."

He smiled. "What are you going to name her?"

I frowned. "Her?"

He nodded. "Both lives, undoubtedly, will be female."

I slumped over. "I don't know... Lysia? Claudia? Germaine?"

"I like the first one."

"Then she'll be Lysia."

"Good. What do you wish to work on tonight?"

"Can we do history? It's fascinating."

"As you wish. Where did we leave off?"

"The 34th vorn of Arian Muliebris's reign."

"Ah, yes..."

**~~~TFFF~~~TFFF~~~TFFF~~~TFFF~~~**

It took me a week before her coding was finished. I held my breath as I started her program, turning to the projector excitedly. It hummed for a moment before a gray protoform expanded upwards. I grinned triumphantly.

"Hello, Lysia."

The form stilled for a second, before responding, "Hello, Creator."

My smile gentled. "My name is Yokiri. You can call me Mom, if you want."

"Thank you... Mom. What am I doing here?"

I leaned forward. "I wanted you."

The head tilted. "Does this mean there was a purpose to my creation?"

I nodded. "Yes. However, let's first get you a form you like."

We spent an hour before she was satisfied with how she looked. I taught her how to do it herself, so she could change it if she wanted.

She had settled on a tan, petite body, shoulder-length blonde hair, and silver eyes. At the moment, she was wearing army fatigues and combat boots, plus a black bandana over her hair.

She smiled at me and I smiled back. "I'm going to connect you to the ranch. There are projectors all over the house, so you can walk around if you want."

She bounced happily. "Thank you, Mom!"

I laughed and did as I said. "There! Have fun, sweetie. I'll see about hooking you into the system here later. Why don't you explore in the meantime?"

She nodded enthusiastically and flickered out.

I felt accomplishment and pride thrum through my chest, happy at my first child. She had asked if that's what she was, and I didn't hesitate to tell her yes.

She was mine, and I couldn't wait for everyone to meet her.

**~~~TFFF~~~TFFF~~~TFFF~~~TFFF~~~**

**I can't tell if that last part was creepy or not. Oh, well.**

**Review! Follow! Favorite! Tell everyone you think would like this story about it! In the meantime, I shall sleep!**

***passes out***


	16. Cybertron Shenanigans

**So I had planned to have all of the story written and ready to post before I started posting again, but now that I've switched from storing the chapters on my laptop to storing them on my drive, it shouldn't be as much of an issue.**

**Which means new chapters for my favorite readers!**

**Also, reviews make me update faster. The giant-ass list below of alerts and favorites is absolutely wonderful, but I want to know what you lot think. :/**

**I'll try to finish this soon - I'm currently working on joining the military, which means two months of no internet access and thus no ability to update. But that's June, not any time too soon.**

**I had this one finished, but then had to rewrite the author's note, so I added more. Extra long chapter! :D**

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**Promise!**

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**Thanks so much for all of this! This is the best ever for a first fic! I must admit, though, I'll probably be transferring over to AO3 and using this as more of an archive? If y'all want to come hang out over there, username is still the same. 3**

**~~~TFFF~~~TFFF~~~TFFF~~~TFFF~~~**

I laid low for the next couple of days. In hindsight, this wasn't actually a good idea. It just made the already paranoid mechs and soldiers even more so – they were slowly getting used to my specific type of chaos, and the absence of it signaled, to them at least, that I was planning something.

Of course, I had already planned and executed my big thing, but that was beside the point.

The tension grew until it came to a head, less than a week after the meeting about my dismantling of my body.

Epps plopped down in front of me in the mess hall, glancing curiously over the schematics I had drawn out for Lysia's body. "What the hell are you doing?"

I glanced up at him. "Drawing, Sergeant Epps. Why?"

He sighed. "You've been planning. That isn't good. When you plan, things like you getting killed in action happen."

I frowned. "No, I'm not planning anything currently. Well, other than that. But that's hardly important."

My gesture towards the schematics caught his attention and he payed more attention. I winced as he gasped in surprise, causing people to look over.

"That's an Autobot!"

I quickly snatched up all the papers and stuffed them in a portfolio. "That's my cue to leave. 'Bye, Epps!"

With that, I sprinted from the mess hall, ignoring the questions and yells from soldiers and Autobots alike.

**~~~TFFF~~~TFFF~~~TFFF~~~TFFF~~~**

I slid into my office, calling, "Lysia!"

She looked up from where she was sitting cross-legged. "Yes, Mom?"

I took a deep breath and let it out, calming down. "Head to the ranch. Stay there. I'll let you know when it's safe to come back."

She nodded and vanished instantaneously, just in time. My door slammed open, revealing an angry Epps, a bemused Optimus hologram, and an amused Lennox. I smiled brightly and waved.

"Hey, Boss Bot! Do you think you can get me clearance to head back to our ranch state-side? I miss roaming the land and my bed."

His eyes furrowed and he replied, "I shall do my best. Why did you run?"

I shifted slightly before responding, "I forgot I had a video call!"

Lysia, bless her heart, chose that moment to call me from the ranch. "Hello?"

I spun around and smiled. "Hey, Lysia! Long time no see! How goes your research?"

She stared for a fraction of a second, then smiled and said, "Oh, it's going well! We've found several similar stars to our sun and have set up cams in an effort to see if there are any planets! Did you ever finish designing those satellites? They'd be a fantastic help."

I held up the schematics for her body. "Just working out a few kinks. I'll send the designs to you for your approval and then we can get started on manufacturing. Anything else?"

She glanced past me at the men standing dumbfounded in the doorway. "There have been some strange sightings around the edge of the compound. No breaches yet, but I'm worried."

I sat up at that. "Strange sightings?"

She nodded, her eyes serious. "Cars without drivers, dark in color. All with some strange markings – here..."

There were some shuffling sounds and then she held up a sheet of paper with both the Autobot and the Decepticon symbol on it. "These are the only ones we've seen. Care to explain?"

I growled lowly. "Trouble. That's what they mean. I'll be there as soon as possible."

She nodded and cut the call. I spun around and stared at them.

"Well. Guess _that_ secret won't last long. Now it's not just a want. It's a necessity – I _have_ to go to the ranch."

**~~~TFFF~~~TFFF~~~TFFF~~~TFFF~~~**

I paced nervously in the aircraft, ignoring the worried look our contingent of followers kept shooting me. The SecDef had allowed our return, but insisted we have a guard. It ended up being two planes worth of soldiers and 'Bots. I was stuck with Maya, Jazz, Bumblebee, the twins, Lennox, and Alex. Eva and Rikina were in the other plane with Ratchet, Optimus, Ironhide, Prowl, Epps, and a small herd of jumpy soldiers.

"Stand by for descent."

I grabbed onto the netting and stood through our jarring landing, out of the door as soon as it was open. I transformed straight into car mode and popped both my doors, waiting impatiently. Maya, Nate, Alex, and a couple of soldiers squished in and I sped off, not waiting for everyone else to load up.

Ironhide, Ratchet and Optimus yelled at me over the Autobot frequency, letting everyone know I was misbehaving. I gave the Cybertronian form of "Fuck off!" as a response, killing all talk and stunning everyone.

"Uh, Mom?" Eva said hesitantly. "That was really inappropriate."

I growled. "Yeah, well, there's a lot you don't really understand, and there are unidentified Autobots and Decepticons roaming around our house."

"Then explain." Ratchet sounded like he was barely restraining himself from ripping into me.

My fault, of course. Shouldn't have disrespected Optimus like that. I felt bad, which swayed me into launching into an explanation.

"I met Primus when I died. He told me a lot and, er, is still teaching me. Recently, he charged me with a very important duty – create two Cybertronian-human hybrid lives from scratch. I already made one – her name is Lysia and she's currently alone and defenseless at the ranch."

There was a stunned silence, from soldiers and Autobots alike. Optimus broke it, saying, "This is remarkable. We shall have to talk after resolving this crisis. I am expecting a more detailed explanation from you."

I groaned. "I suddenly feel like I've been called into the principal's office. Can we focus on protecting my daughter first? I'd kind of like her to stay alive, please."

Agreement rose from the contingent and we all fell silent as I took the exit for the highway that led out of town and to the county road that held the turnoff for the ranch. At this point, the other 'Bots had sped up to match me, following closely as I broke more than a few speed regulations, including the ones of nature.

I slowed down once we hit the county road – as much as I wanted to get home, the miniscule dents I'd receive from speeding down the road would be very annoying and hard to deal with. Eva, who was the only other one to transform, also slowed down, and we both snickered as Ironhide didn't and yelped.

"Dumbass."

He snarled at me. "Slagger."

"Fuckwit."

"Glitch."

"Dicklicker."

"Spawn of Ultron."

"Piss bucket."

"Easy frag."

"Oh, shut it, you rotten celery stick!"

Silence reigned.

"Mom, you are so _weird_."

"I know." I took the turn in for the ranch and sped up slightly, frowning internally as I pinged several different signatures, rapidly approaching the house.

"Oh, _shit_."

**~~~TFFF~~~TFFF~~~TFFF~~~TFFF~~~**

Lysia sat on the couch. No, she mentally corrected herself, she was projecting an image of herself sitting on a couch. At this point in time, she did not have a physical body. Mom had promised her one, but Mom was also very busy and had to get around several blockades, some by the government. From what she had read, if it weren't for the-one-called-Optimus, they would have seized all of her family and experimented on them, in the hopes of creating an army of mechs. She would not let that happen to them.

She checked the sensors she had set out. The signals she had seen earlier were coming closer, but she could feel Mom and Sisters and Aunt at the edge of her awareness, rapidly growing stronger. With them were the-one-named-for-a-bug, the-overly-aggressive-one, the-healer-like-Mom, the-one-of-statistical-excellence, the-bright-yellow-one, the-red-one, and the-one-called-Optimus. She supposed they were coming to rescue her, and then maybe remove her.

Mom had promised to protect her. She would trust Mom.

But that did not mean she could not help. With that in mind, Lysia activated the few defenses she had set up and settled in to wait.

**~~~TFFF~~~TFFF~~~TFFF~~~TFFF~~~**

I nearly crashed as I felt defenses I hadn't installed activate. "What the hell?!"

I heard similar cursing as I pinged Lysia. "Lysia, what was that?!"

My little girl replied calmly, "Defenses I set up, Mom. The ranch had none."

I groaned. "You aren't even a week old!"

Optimus cut in then. "Yokiri, I must inquire – this femme, Lysia, she is less than a week old?"

I sent an affirmative, spinning into a small clearing and opening doors. "Yeah, she's partially why I was almost late. I was setting up the holographic projectors for her and started programming after that meeting."

Lysia spoke. "Target 3 – 70%. Unidentified Ally 1, UA1 – 65%, taking enemy fire. Target 5 is currently engaged with UA3. Target 1 is out of commission, cause – lucky strike from defenses. Targets 2 and 4 are engaging UA2. However, none of the allies will last long, and my defenses are long-range only. Please hurry, Mom."

I sighed as I shifted up and the humans set up base. "On my way, Lysia."

With that, I turned to Optimus, who nodded, and sprinted towards the sounds of fire.

As I cleared the ridge and shot down it, Lysia steadily reporting the situation over the Autobot frequencies, I could see the battle. My optic ridges shot up.

"Lysia, corrections to identifications. UA1 is Mirage. UA2 is Boomer. UA3 is unidentifiable, notify Ratchet that they need medical attention. Target 1 is Barricade. The rest are still unidentified."

There was silence for a moment as I charged across the field, then Lysia responded, "Corrections accepted. Ratchet has been notified."

I launched across the field and swiped my sword down, taking Barricade's hand off. His optics widened as he recognized me. He swore and called retreat, fleeing with the other four Decepticons.

I tilted my head. "That was strange. Lysia, are you alright?"

I transformed down, smiling at the dutiful "Yes, Mom."

I flung open the patio doors, turning around to look at the rest of the Autobots. "Well, everyone, this is Lysia."

She stepped forward hesitantly, waving gently. "Hello."

**~~~TFFF~~~TFFF~~~TFFF~~~TFFF~~~**

I stood in my old room much, much later. Ratchet had wanted to check over her coding to make sure that I hadn't messed anything up. I scoffed at him, but let him look anyway. The rest of the Autobots all wanted to talk to her, amazed by the marvel that was my new daughter.

I sighed softly and flopped back onto the bed. "Well, now that we're here, it'd be a good time to bring it up, I suppose..."

With that final thought, I slid into dreamland and right into another dream lesson.

**~~~TFFF~~~TFFF~~~TFFF~~~TFFF~~~**

I stood on a vast metallic plane. "Where are we now?"

He chuckled. "I thought you'd like to see Cybertron."

I surveyed it with a frown. "It's still... and quiet."

He sighed. "This is how it is now. It was quite vibrant and beautiful before the war."

I tilted my head sideways. "Is there any way to restore it now, or is it doomed to such silence forever now?"

He smiled at my determination to fix its desolation. "There is always a way to restore what is lost. Come, let us explore."

I followed him down into an area full of broken and dull crystals. "This was Praxus, right? There's a lot of stories about the gardens, how they were breathtaking."

He nodded and hung back as I moved forward, careful not to touch anything. I looked into windows, frowning as I saw broken furniture and shattered glass.

"This is really sad. Can we go somewhere else?"

"Not just yet. There is something you need to see." He indicated a side street. "It's that way."

I stared at him, shrugged, and set off, hopscotching over the debris in the way. I couldn't exactly tell time, dreamland was funny like that, but I knew it took me quite a while to make it to the end of the street. At some point, I realized it wasn't a street, but a path, lined with beautiful murals that depicted the creation of Cybertron and its inhabitants. I came to a clear area and looked up from where I had been focussed on not stepping on anything and gasped.

There was a small Cybertronian protoform incased in crystal. The inscription over it read, _'The Body of the First Prime'_, and I slowly reached out, drawn to the small body. My hand contacted the crystal and flashed star-bright, blinding me.

I yelped and fell on my ass, scrubbing at my optics frantically. "Ow, ow, ow, ow, ow!"

When I could see again, I looked back up and froze.

The First Prime's optics were glowing.

**~~~TFFF~~~TFFF~~~TFFF~~~TFFF~~~**

Back on the ranch, Rikina had wandered into my room to check on me, as I had been quiet for some time. "Wake up sleepy head."

I didn't respond, as I was currently wandering through Praxus and thus was somewhere over a million miles away.

Rikina frowned and poked me, poking me harder when I didn't respond. "C'mon, Yoki. Get up, Optimus wants to talk to you."

I still didn't respond.

Now slightly worried, Rikina grabbed my shoulders and started shaking me. "Yokiri! Wake up!"

My head flopped around limply as she shook me, proving to her that something was Very Wrong Indeed.

Panicking fully now, Rikina darted to the door and screeched as loudly as she could. "RATCHET!"

**~~~TFFF~~~TFFF~~~TFFF~~~TFFF~~~**

I backed up slowly, making sure to keep my optics on the protoform as the First Prime's optics continued to glow. A cracking noise made me flinch, and I backed up further as cracks appeared in the crystal.

I yelped as the top part of the crystal exploded outward, pinging off my armor, making me close my optics and twist away.

"Ah," the First Prime sighed, "it's been a while."

**~~~TFFF~~~TFFF~~~TFFF~~~TFFF~~~**

Rikina paced in front of the couch as Maya and Eva sat there, staring numbly. Yokiri was outside, having been forced to transform so Ratchet could check over her. The soldiers were standing around awkwardly, unsure what to do in the face of this sudden occurrence. Epps was leaning against the counter, and Lennox had sat on the floor.

The other Cybertronians were conversing quietly in their own language, the clicks, whistles, and chirping strangely loud in the still and waiting silence.

Lysia's projected form flickered throughout the house, her own version of pacing. She was nervous, strange as that may be to her, and wanted her Mom to be okay.

**~~~TFFF~~~TFFF~~~TFFF~~~TFFF~~~**

I stared, frozen, at the First Prime. "What?"

He smiled at me, the faint Irish brogue in his voice just now registering. "It's been a while. Several hundred millennia, I believe. For highly advanced beings, Primus's children do tend to break their planet quite a bit."

I continued to stare. "_What?"_

He snickered and broke the crystal encasing his legs, stepping down gently and walking over to tap my cheek. He was about five feet shorter than me and covered in a dusty red armor. It wasn't rust covered, which made me interested in the material it was made of.

"You alright, there?"

I twitched, then shook my head. "Uh, yeah. This is incredibly strange? I don't know how to act."

If anything, the smile on his face grew wider. "How about with and introduction? I'm Aeon Prime. And you are?"

I blinked down at him and said, "I'm Filia Muliebris, the first Prime of the human/Cybertronian hybrids."

He dipped his head. "Hello, Filia, my sister."

**~~~TFFF~~~TFFF~~~TFFF~~~TFFF~~~**

Ratchet shook his head at Optimus. "There's nothing wrong with her. She's just… unresponsive."

"So she's in a coma?" Eva's voice spoke up, causing both 'Bots to jump.

She sounded remarkably young and scared, staring up at the pair.

Ratchet slumped his shoulders. "Yes, it would seem so."

Eva ducked her head, hiding her shining eyes.

**~~~TFFF~~~TFFF~~~TFFF~~~TFFF~~~**

I followed along after Aeon, watching him tsk over the damage done. "I'm confused."

He turned to look at me, surprise clear on his face, as I hadn't said a word the whole time we'd been doing this. "About what?"

I waved my hands around me. "All of this. What does Primus expect you to do? It's a big world, far bigger than the both of us. It'll take forever to fix on our own."

Aeon looked astonished. "You mean you don't know?"

I gave him a look. "If I knew whatever it was, I wouldn't be asking, would I?"

He tilted his head down and started walking again. "Each Prime, with their new body, is given a special ability. Mine is to heal this world. You do know what happened when I was chosen, right?"

I nodded. "The First Prime was chosen during a time when it seemed as if everything would die. Where he walked, new life sprang forth and all of Cybertron united behind him."

He grinned. "Exactly. I knew it would happen again, so I asked Primus to preserve my body and spark so that I could come back and heal the world when it broke. He agreed, and made it so only the pure of heart who want the best for our people could awaken me."

I made a soft noise of realization and looked at him. "That's so cool!"

Then it hit me. "Wait, every Prime? What's my power, then? What's Optimus's?"

He gave me a look. "Do you think I know? Ask Primus. Now scram, I have healing to do."

I stuck my tongue out at him and ran off to where I had left Primus.

**~~~TFFF~~~TFFF~~~TFFF~~~TFFF~~~**

Ratchet stared down at the still body of the young medic who had, in turn, intrigued him, confused him, terrified him, and annoyed him. He was annoyed now, come to think of it. It was like she was just asleep and would wake up at any moment!

Something sparked in his brain. _"I met Primus when I died. He told me a lot and, er, is still teaching me."_

"Oh," Ratchet said slowly, something very close to wonder racing through his frame.

With that, he turned and yelled for Optimus.

**~~~TFFF~~~TFFF~~~TFFF~~~TFFF~~~**

I skipped into the square and gasped. "Is that a cyber-kitten?!"

Primus smiled at me. "Yes. She found her way here rather quickly."

As if on cue, the small metal form wailed and staggered towards me, clumsy and uncoordinated. I scooped her up and shushed her softly, cooing all the while. She snuggled in, her silver protoform gleaming dully in Cybertron's red sun.

I looked up at Primus and did my best puppy dog look. "Can I keep her? Pleeeeeeaaase?"

He snorted. "I believe she is a gift for you from the First Prime, judging by the way she's clinging to your form. She will return to Terra Nova with you, though not in your immediate area. You'll have to find her, though she won't be far."

I nodded and made a note to look for her immediately when I woke up. "Oh, hey, what's my special power?"

Primus smiled again. "I knew he would mention that. You have the power to transform dying humans into hybrids like yourself. It's only you, of course, and you will know what to do instinctively."

I nodded slowly. "I can see where that would be helpful. Especially if one of the special humans of the 'Bots gets hurt. It won't happen automatically, will it? I don't want to do it if the person doesn't want to be changed."

Primus's optics widened slightly and he dipped his head. "Very well. I'll… make that adjustment."

I grinned cheerfully. "Yay! What's Optimus's power? I think he should know."

Primus stilled, something I had figured meant he was checking the time. "You need to return. Optimus's power is one you already know about. Good luck, my child.

"What?" I tried to say, but the world had already gone dark.

**~~~TFFF~~~TFFF~~~TFFF~~~TFFF~~~**

Optimus stood over his fellow Prime's body. "Are you sure, Ratchet?"

Ratchet nodded. "As sure as I can be. She's just asleep."

A sleepy voice asked, "Who's just asleep? And why am I on the ground?"

The two mechs looked down to see Yokiri blinking slowly up at them as she started to stretch. Optimus was the first to speak.

"Thank Primus! You're awake!"

She looked slightly annoyed. "Yeah, and that still doesn't answer my question."

Ratchet sighed. "Rikina couldn't wake you."

Yokiri blinked. "Oh."

**~~~TFFF~~~TFFF~~~TFFF~~~TFFF~~~**

The fact that Rikina couldn't wake me up was startling, though not as much as I had figured. After all, I had just been running around on Cybertron.

I couldn't continue on that line of thought as my voice had sent my family running outside, and I was promptly tackled by three human-sized bodies. Really, it was quite amusing how tiny they were compared to my Cybertronian form, something that hadn't ever really hit me as we all tended to stay in the same form.

"Mom! You're awake!" Eva shrieked happily, nearly crying from joy.

"Mmm hmmm," I said noncommittally. "I was just asleep, kiddo."

Rikina smacked me. "You scared the crap out of me! Don't do it again!"

"Okaaaay," I sighed, rolling my optics. "I didn't do it on purpose, you know."

I gently brushed them off my legs and stood up, already scanning the area for my kitten. She pinged in the nearby forest, almost five miles away. I transformed down, dodged the glomps from Maya and Eva, and took off towards her signal, ignoring the yells from pretty much everyone as I did.

I heard someone running behind me and risked a look to see who it was. Lennox was running as fast as he could, something his slowly reddening face would attest to, and it seemed like he was the only person currently insane enough to follow me. Feeling bad, I slowed down until he caught up to me, then settled into an easy jog.

"Sorry," I told him, leaping over an exposed root as we entered the forest.

He shook his head. "You have to remember that technically you're still under supervision, which means you need an authorized person with you at all times."

I winced. "Yeah, forgot about that. And, before you ask, we're going to get a new gift. I got her while I was asleep and she's about," I did a quick check of my radar, "four and a half miles this way. We need to hurry, though, she's pretty young and alone."

She had started to move slowly in our direction, but the most that would do is cut about a mile off our travel, unless she figured out how to run. I, of course, didn't tell Lennox that.

He nodded, and nearly tripped. I caught him and steadied him, starting again more slowly. This forest was actually quite hazardous to my tiny form. It was hatred and evil in tree form. There were exposed roots and sticks hiding everywhere, ready to send the unwary trespasser straight into hard rock, banging their heads and possibly knocking them unconscious. It made for a great defense.

We focused on getting through the forest without dying. An hour passed seemingly quickly, and a noise made me look up. Staring at me with clear love in her eyes was a waist-high metallic cat.

Lennox squeaked and she pounced on me, knocking me down. I laughed happily and rubbed her forehead, causing her to purr.

"Hey, girl," I cooed, hugging her. "That's Lennox. He's a friend."

She turned and looked at him before flopping down on top of me, making me groan.

Lennox snorted. "That's your gift? It's bigger than that psycho Decepticon cat!"

I wriggled to where I could see him. "Ravage is a cassette. He's not an actually cyber-cat, just modelled to look like one. This lovely beastie, on the other hand, is an actual cyber-kitten. Isn't she adorable?"

We gave him twin puppy dog looks, making him groan. "Let's just get back. Do you know a faster way?"

I tilted my head. "There's a path around here somewhere. Frankly, the thing is ridiculous because there's so many forks that lead to dead-ends, but we can give it a try."

We hit one of the dead-ends in about ten minutes and set back down it, my new kitty leading the way. Amused, Lennox and I followed her, surprised when she kept getting the right paths, leading us out in about half an hour.

"Good girl," I told her, eying the large congregation on the open land nervously. Lennox started towards it and we trailed behind, both the cat and myself nervous.

**~~~TFFF~~~TFFF~~~TFFF~~~TFFF~~~**

Optimus did not look happy when we finally arrived. "Yokiri, please refrain from running off, especially after such a strange occurrence."

I made a face at him and transformed up, not liking the feeling of being a bug. Rikina, Eva, and Maya had transformed up and were studiously ignoring me, I ignored them back.

My kitty peeped against my leg, catching the attention of everyone. I scooped her up and hummed.

"I guess I still need to name you, huh? Let's go with… Sutaraito."

She mewed at me, the sound definitely happy. I snickered and scritched her now tiny head.

Ironhide had moved closer to Suta, peering at her in surprise. "Is that a cyber-kitten?"

I nodded, smirking. "Indeed. Gift from a friend."

Ironhide shook his head. "I never thought I'd see one again. Cyber-cats all died early in the war, with most of the animals."

I shrugged. "Like I said, a gift from a friend."

"And this friend is…" Prowl, who had been silent for far too long, prompted, making me jump.

"Aeon Prime," I said with a sigh, letting Suta down as she started squirming.

She wobbled over to Lennox and gently sniffed him, licking him carefully, which sent him on his ass.

I laughed quietly. "I saw Cybertron, and started the healing process of the land. I don't know how long it will take, but it's healing. There should be all sorts of interesting things if we go back."

Quiet intakes of breath came from those around me, human and Bot alike. Catching Optimus's optic, I saw a new purpose to win the war bloom - hope.

Cybertron would live again, and we all gained hope.

**~~~TFFF~~~TFFF~~~TFFF~~~TFFF~~~**

**Welp, another chapter down! Now to wrap this up, do some things, break some hearts, do some plot, stop some evil, and then I'm done!**

**Oh, and I don't actually know what the First Prime's name was, I just made something up. *shrugs* Use it if you want, call me dumb for coming up with it, I really don't care.**

**Sutaraito means Starlight. There should be some lines over letters in there, but I can't make them appear on a Windows computer - I don't know how.**

**Conversely, Suta means Star. Yoki's tiny metal kitty's nickname is the first part of her name in English and Japanese. ^^**

**And we have a Cybertron! Yay! Plus plot points and awesome sauceness. Woo hoo!**

**The last part of this note is on page fourteen - definitely the most I've written. Hope you all like it! (Now please excuse me while I try to figure out who is actually at the ranch, because I put Prowl there and I don't actually think he's there. Update: yup, Prowl was there. Now to figure out who all I actually have in the story. '_)**

**Y'all know the song and dance at this point – review, please!**


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